Hillary Clinton Celebrates the Progress of LGBT Rights

The Democratic presidential front-runner, Hillary Clinton, authored an op-ed for CNN Friday reflecting on how the country has taken some "big steps forward" in the "ongoing fight for equality."

Along with marriage equality, Senator Clinton celebrated how far the U.S. has come by citing that adoption by same-sex couples is legal in every state, as well as how there are now federal and U.S. military nondiscrimination policies that cover sexual orientation.

The presidential candidate warned about the havoc that a Donald Trump presidency could bring, if he is elected. Clinton said Trump "will appoint Supreme Court justices who would favor rolling back LGBT rights and allowing individual states to discriminate against the LGBT community." If Trump were to become president, he "could even decide to overturn Obergefell v. Hodges and bring marriage equality to an end," wrote Clinton.

She also referred to Trump's commitment to signing the First Amendment Defense Act, which would "permit taxpayer-funded discrimination by those who cite religion as a reason to deny services to LGBT people nationwide."

The Democratic candidate wrote that the Equality Act must be passed in order to ensure "full federal equality for LGBT Americans." Senator Clinton also wrote about the need to "tackle the intersectional pressures" that many LGBT Americans face, such as transgender women of color. There has been 13 reported murders of transgender people in 2016.

Trans United Fund, the nation's first political advocacy group and PAC for trans people, presented each presidential candidate with a questionaire on issues that trans people face. Senator Sanders is the only candidate that has responded thus far, but the organization celebrated Clinton's op-ed. "Sec. Clinton's uplifting of trans women of color, trans youth, and issues that affect the most marginalized trans people are a victory we celebrate," said Monica Roberts, TUF Advisory Committee Member.