The Human Rights Campaign (HRC), the
nation's largest LGBT rights advocate, has announced that it has
postponed all public events through the weekend of April 4 due to
coronavirus (COVID-19) concerns.
In a statement, HRC President Alphonso
David said that the US was facing a “global health crisis.”
“We are facing a global health
crisis, and the Human Rights Campaign’s number one priority is to
look out for the health and safety of our members, supporters, staff,
the LGBTQ community and the community at large,” David said.
“For that reason, we have decided to
cancel or postpone all of our public events through the weekend of
April 4, including our large-scale fundraising dinners in Nashville
on March 14, Los Angeles on March 28 and Houston on April 4.”
“Our focus remains on the goal of
advancing the rights of LGBTQ people around the world and on the
defeat of Donald Trump and Mike Pence in November. We will continue
to work toward this goal, and weather this crisis as we have
weathered crises before – by uniting as a community,” he said.
HRC said that their offices would be
closed to the public and staff would be working remotely for at least
the remainder of March.
The announcement comes just days after
GLAAD
said that it has canceled its upcoming Media Awards ceremony in New
York City over fears concerning the global pandemic that has
sickened nearly 170,000 people, with over 6,500 dead.