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Re: DRAFT: SC Equality Remarks

From:dlowell@hillaryclinton.com To: lpeterson@hillaryclinton.com CC: speechdrafts@hillaryclinton.com, cmiddleton@hillaryclinton.com, xhinojosa@hillaryclinton.com, mharris@hillaryclinton.com, sformas@hillaryclinton.com Date: 2015-11-06 02:55 Subject: Re: DRAFT: SC Equality Remarks

Thanks for sending around, Lauren -- really appreciate it. Loving the local flavor. Big flags for you, *Maya*, where you see bolding. Here are the thoughts / feedback I thought of while reading: - I think it's great that we again mention the violence that trans women of color face, but since the anecdote is so specific, we have to get it right. The last thing I read was that at least 21 trans women have been murdered this year. Can we get research to track down the most recent statistic? I don't want to get that wrong. - I believe that all current statewide LGBT protections in South Carolina are courtesy of the federal government. That is one indication that getting South Carolinians to change their hearts and minds and fully embrace their LGBT friends, family, etc. is a long road. I love the sentence where she commits to ending discrimination wherever it occurs, but I wonder if it wouldn't be even more powerful for her to fully articulate how hard she knows it must be to be LGBT in the south, how marriage equality still doesn't necessarily make it safe to hold your partner's hand in public, etc. I don't want to say anything too negative -- and would defer to Clay and Stephanie on what they think -- but it could be a great place to highlight the difference between equal protection under the law and full acceptance. - HIV rates are particularly high among a) young gay black men; b) in big cities; and c) the south. I think this could be a great place to perhaps tease out some policy, if we are at all ready, *Maya.* Maybe committing to decriminalization of HIV status? If not, we could at least acknowledge that HIV prevention and treatment is a big priority and something that we're committed to. - Speaking of making policy, *Maya*, if you want to make news, we could go big and say that we support trans people being able to change their name and gender markers on government documents without onerous burdens or proof of surgery. Don't know if we can get that approved in 2 days, but it would certainly make a splash. - How closely do people follow HRC's speeches? Will people notice that many of the applause lines or anecdotes are similar to the DC speech? I can help brainstorm some new stuff -- unfortunately there is no shortage of crazy and offensive statements right now -- but will only do so if people tell me we need it. Looking forward to an awesome event on Saturday! Ready to work with all of y'all over the next two days to get this over the finish line. Thanks for looping us all in, Lauren. D. On Thu, Nov 5, 2015 at 11:13 PM, Lauren Peterson < lpeterson@hillaryclinton.com> wrote: > Hi everyone - > > Attached are draft remarks for the SC Equality Dinner. I believe a few of > the people I've mentioned in this draft will be in the room at the event - > Clay/Dominic, I'd love to figure out exactly who, and identify anyone else > who needs to be acknowledged. > > This is essentially the HRC speech, with some local color and a reference > to HERO (pasted below). Let us know what you think! > > LP > > > > I wish that all the strides we’ve made were so secure – so deeply > ingrained in our laws and values – that we didn’t need to keep defending > them. But as we were reminded on Tuesday, we’re not there yet. > > > > The fight that played out in Houston this week was a reminder that fear > and misconceptions about LGBT people still exist – and that there are still > people out there willing to exploit them to win political battles. That > goes against everything we stand for as a country. If you’re angry and > insulted – you should be. I am, too. > > > > But we can’t afford to let our discouragement slow us down. The other > side is gearing up for a long fight, and so should we. I’ll be with you > every step of the way. > > > > Let’s not forget that in just six years, we went from the heartbreak of > Prop 8 in California to marriage equality nationwide. That love will > triumph over hate is a bet I’ll take every time. So let’s roll up our > sleeves, dust ourselves off, and get back to work. > > > > And we have a lot of work to do. > -- Dominic Lowell LGBT Outreach Director | Hillary for America 661.364.5186 dlowell@hillaryclinton.com