In an op-ed published Wednesday,
Democratic presidential candidate Michael Bloomberg called his
support for LGBT rights “one of the great fights of my life.”
Bloomberg is starting to gain traction
as a presidential candidate after getting a late start.
The former mayor of New York City, said
in his op-ed that as president he would continue to fight for LGBT
rights.
“As mayor of New York City, I came
out in favor of marriage equality in 2005 – long before it was
considered politically safe to do so, and years before many of the
other candidates for president stated their support publicly,”
Bloomberg
said.
“The reason I spoke out back then was
simple: I saw the pain that the status quo was causing, and I could
not defend it. I could not look people in the eye and tell them that
their government was correct in denying them the right to get
married.”
“But I didn’t just speak up for
marriage equality – I worked to make it a reality.”
“I went up to the state capitol in
Albany, where Republicans controlled the state Senate, and met with
senators who were against it. I asked them to listen to their
families, and especially their children. I asked them to put party
politics aside and vote their conscience.”
“That’s what they did – and
marriage equality passed in New York State.”
Bloomberg added that gaining marriage
rights didn't end discrimination against the LGBT community in the
United States and that much work remains.
He also attacked President Donald
Trump's record on LGBT rights.
“But this president keeps trying to
kick it backwards,” he wrote. “He's done that by appointing
judges with anti-LGBTQ+ views and by not advancing the rights of
LGBTQ+ people around the world.”
Bloomberg also vowed as president to
“use the power of the Oval Office to pass the Equality Act” and
reauthorize the Violence Against Women Act with comprehensive
protections for the LGBT community.