Ricky Martin Stands With Hillary Clinton's 'LGBT for Hillary' Campaign
In effort to rally LGBT voters, 2016 presidential candidate Hillary Clinton officially launched "LGBT for Hillary" on Monday with Boricua singer Ricky Martin.
The Democratic front-runner kicked off her new initiative, which aims to organize LGBT supporters to help push her campaign, during a conference call with reporters on Monday, reports the Washington Blade. She also praised the LGBT rights movement and the U.S. Supreme Court for overturning the federal ban on gay marriage as a victory for progress in the U.S.
"Even as we celebrate progress, nobody should forget how much work still lies ahead," Clinton said. "That work isn't finished until every single person, no matter who you are or who you love or where you live is treated with the equality and dignity that you all deserve."
Clinton also said she plans to announce more policies to help the LGBT community soon, telling LGBT supporters that "the issues you're fighting for are not only central to my campaign, but they're at the heart of everything I think we stand for as a country."
Martin and legendary tennis player Billie Jean King were also on the call to pledge their support for "LGBT for Hillary" as two gay American celebrities.
"What happens with Hillary is that she makes me feel comfortable, she makes me feel protected," said the Puerto Rican singer who came out as gay in 2010.
"I listen to her on the debates, and she's just real, she's honest, she's classy ... and it makes me feel completely at ease when I listen to her speak. As a gay man, what she brings to the table is what I want for me, for my kids, for my family," he said.
The "Livin' la Vida Loca" singer added that he's supporting Clinton because "listening to the Republican Party is the scariest thing that me as a gay man and a Latino man is facing at the moment."
In addition, the international pop star sent out an email blast on Saturday asking Clinton supporters to join the coalition and/or make a donation to Clinton's campaign.
"Growing up in the U.S. territory of Puerto Rico, I never dreamed that I would one day be a proud, out gay father of two beautiful little boys, in a country where marriage equality was the law of the land. Now, that's just an average day -- that's what real progress is," read Martin's email.
"Hillary knows this, and she's not going to stop fighting. But in order to protect and build on the progress we've made, we need to win this election."
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