CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Chelsea Clinton was in Charlotte on Saturday for a town-hall style rally hosted by TurnOUT NC, a joint project of the Human Rights Campaign and Equality North Carolina.
Chelsea Clinton encouraged a roomful of Human Rights Campaign supporters to help get out the vote for Hillary Clinton as well as fellow pro-equality Democrats in down ballot races, like Attorney General Roy Cooper.
“When we say this is the most important election of our lifetime — when equality is on the ballot, when opportunity is on the ballot — it’s true,” she said. “We have to prove that ‘Love Trumps Hate’ is not just a slogan.”
She added that she wanted her children to grow up in a country where everyone is treated equally.
“She also recounted a story of a a girl in North Carolina grabbing her by the hand and saying, “Your mom must win,” because for one it is time for a female president and because boys in her school told her that if Donald Trump wins, her dad “will have to go back in the closet.”
“No child should ever be bullied,” she said. “No child should ever have to worry about the safety of their parents.”
The HRC has endorsed Clinton for president, as well as Attorney General Roy Cooper for governor in his bid to unseat Gov. Pat McCrory.
Hillary Clinton has spoken out against Gov. McCrory signing the anti-LGBTQ HB2 into law during campaign stops in the state.
Gov. McCrory has campaigned with Donald Trump and continues to support him even after the allegations of sexual abuse against him have come to light.
Both races are tight, as is the race between Deborah Ross and Senator Richard Burr, who recently made a joke about gun owners wanting to put a bulls-eye on Hillary Clinton.
Clinton appeared alongside HRC President Chad Griffin, writer, director and producer Lee Daniels, and Equality NC Executive Director Chris Sgro.
“The differences for our community between these two candidates could not be greater. We’ve never had more at stake in an election,” Griffin said. “There is only one champion of LGBTQ people in this race and it’s Hillary Rodham Clinton. While Donald Trump threatened to legalize Kim Davis-style discrimination and HB2 all across the country, Hillary Clinton has made passing the Equality Act a cornerstone of her campaign.”
“North Carolina is ground zero for the battle for LGBT rights and we know that LGBT North Carolinians and allies are going to heed the call and turn out in record number to make sure Hillary Clinton is our next president, Roy Cooper is our next governor and the world knows that North Carolina is not represented by our failed leadership,” said Sgro.
“We need someone who wants to make America a country that gives everyone the opportunity to live up to their potential, regardless of their race, gender identity, religion, or who they love,” TurnOUT NC filed organizer Brittany Desgages said. “We need someone who recognizes that we really are stronger when we come together, not when we divide ourselves by inciting fear and spreading hate. That person is Hillary Clinton.”
“It’s not just your job to vote — that’s a given. That’s a no-brainer. It’s your job to go door to door tell people to vote. It’s our obligation,” Daniels added.
HRC reported that North Carolina has more than 255,000 LGBTQ voters, critical in a swing state that President Obama won by just 14,000 votes in 2008. Additionally, they noted in a statement, roughly 6 million LGBTQ voters cast a ballot in an election where President Barack Obama won by just under 5 million votes.
Watch Chelsea Clinton’s speech in the video below.