On our progress. Acrossork to communities, take a look at the video of voices fighting for fairness and justice for all. One year ago, we adjust the nation in the midst of a president ial election. Represented in america that is diverse and bighearted. I am a proud, transgender american. We are blessed to raise our three sons were they are free to be themselves. I have hope. Today, it is like a dream. We have gone from a presidency of progress to the presidency of and unconstitutional and unamerican muslim ban. Callus efforts to rip health away from millions of americans, including those living with disabilities. The ciccone and reversal of criminal justice reform. Draconiand reversal of criminal justice reform. On winter weekend at night, we filled airports. From coast to coast, from countless main street in between. Powered our voices. Black lives matter. We must protect our kids. America is a nation of immigrants. We can combat gun violence. Every person deserves health care. In the years since the convention, as we travel around the country we have seen the americans live on. Decide what our chapter in the history books must be. The momentum of our movement and the strength when we work together. My name is Sarah Mcbride and i am a proud, transcend or america. I am an American Woman with a disability. I am a patriotic american muslim. My name is carla and my parents are undocumented. I am a mother of the movement. Today. Tomorrow. Every day. We are still in this fight. We are stronger together. [applause] and now, please join me in welcoming a hero of hours and a gold star father, sees your con. [applause] [applause] i am so humbled to be standing among my family. Thank you. Thank you. [applause] i stand before you so honored by the dignity and the courtesy you have the stowed. Your support has meant so much timesand my wife in good and in difficult moments. Mike lgbtq family has given us the courage to continue the fight. [applause] as a gold star father, i wish to especially pay tribute to our transgender patriots and veterans. [applause] we salute your determination. We salute your determination. In serving our nation. We are proud of your valor. Know, that a majority of america is standing with you, supports you, and are grateful for your service. [applause] tonight, i am proud to stand with the Human Rights Campaign. People and for muslims. [applause] the fight [applause] wonfight against bigotry is as a patriotic american, i believe we must combat hate and all of its forms. [applause] transphobia, xenophobia, islamophobia, misogyny, and racism must be rejected. [applause] and it must be rejected by all of us. Today, our Democratic Values of equality, freedom of press, rule of law, our civility in political discourse, faces very serious challenges. Since the election, one question has been asked of me time and time again. Where do we go from here . My humble answer is, lets remain hopeful and remain united as individuals, as americans, and as believers in the most cherished principles of our nation, equal protection, and equal dignity. [applause] even while you have endured ,ruel attacks on your dignity you have held your hands heads high with your pride and believe in our democracy. It will not be long before it equality prevails. [applause] and your names will be written in gold on the history pages for your courage. I am humbled by your hospitality and proud to stand with you in this fight. Thank you very much. [applause] i have the pleasure of introducing a legend in the sporting world, a passionate activist for equality and an icon in the ocd dq community. Lgbtq community. Billy g king is the number one tennis player in the italy king isg billie jean the number one tennis player in the world. Regarded by many as one of the greatest tennis players of alltime, she helped pave the way for women to have as athletes careers and be paid based on their ability, not just their looks. [applause] and make history in that famous 1973 tennis match against bobby ray. The story about that match and the moment of victory she used as a platform to fight for equality is an essential backdrop in the new emma stone film, battle of the sexes. Her opponent was a bullying, narcissistic blowhard. Sound familiar . [laughter] sheet 13 sets in a row. A row. Won three sets in boom now 44 years later and women still lag behind the equal respect shown to amend. We are reminded every day of injustice and inequality. Kingeople like billie jean inspire us all to keep fighting on. Thehas received president ial medal of freedom. And hrc honored her with a National Quality award in 2006 at this event. We are thrilled to have her back with us tonight. Please welcome the amazing billie jean king. [applause] billie jean thank you. Woo, i love it. Woo. Thank you, vanessa. Wow. Im thrilled to be with you, especially to honor my hero, Hillary Rodham clinton. [applause] beginning with her groundbreaking commencement speech at wellesley college, to her work as a young lawyer at a childrens defense fund, and in her earliest years in Public Service in arkansas, and on the national stage, hillary has been an advocate for all of us. [applause] especially those on the margin. And its struggling and vulnerable. And struggling and vulnerable. She has been in a partner in our fight for equality, making our battle her own. She says we hope to see a federal marriage amendment and ensure our constitution would never be amended to deny rights to us and to others. [applause] she fought for the passage of no discrimination protections and for the expansion of hate crimes and for the repeal of dont ask, dont tell, and doma. [applause] as a secretary of state, she made the conclusion of lgbt writes a top priority of american foreignpolicy. We will never forget her bold declaration heard around the world that gay rights are human rights and human rights are gay rights. [applause] i just finished reading her book. It is called, what happened . If you havent read it, you should. It will be very clear, she is not done yet. [applause] brings all of herself to everything she has done. She continues to show us we all need to resist, insist, persist, and list. Enlist. We need to move onward together. Champion,e heart of a unlimited compassion for others, and the confidence to be her authentic self. Please join me with all the love our veryive to welcome own Hillary Rodham clinton. [applause] [applause] mrs. Clinton thank you. [applause] thank you so much. Thank you, thank you hrc for that warm welcome. [applause] and, you know, there is no one i would rather share my initials with then you. Thank you. [applause] now, some of you may have seen as i came up the stairs that i have one of those boots on the as i fractured my foot. It is going to be for a couple more weeks. When Something Like this happens, here is what your doctor says. Rest, right . Ice, compress, and elevate. And dont do anything else. I said, well that is all fine and good, but it edition two rights, i have hrc that i have to be at. I cant imagine missing this extraordinary event. And i am told it is the biggest one ever and we need it to be. [applause] i want to thank my dear friend ing, a champion for equal pay, better opportunities for women, and all people. And it is wonderful to see a lot of familiar faces here tonight, including Sarah Mcbride and khizr khan. [applause] eloquently ate so the Democratic NationalConvention Last year and they our values at and our best. Being here feels a little bit like a family reunion. Me, in large measure, because i am so grateful for the fromrt i have received so many of you in the us to be dq community over the years. [applause] i think its fair to say youve made me a better first lady, a better senator, a better secretary of state, a better president ial nominee. [cheering] a better person. [cheering] you embraced me and my family. And everywhere i went on the campaign trail, i not only saw those blue and yellow tshirt out in force, but i heard your stories. The man in iowa who couldnt wait to tell me about the daughter he adopted years ago with his partner, the first in the state, he thought. And the granddaughter who is now the light of his life. The mother of a transgender girl in las vegas who stayed awake awake at night, worrying about how her. Or get the medical care she needed. Lgbt veterans, teachers, doctors, nurses, business owners, who were so determined to keep their promise to the nextgeneration, that, yes, it [cheering and applause] gets better. So, thank you, from the bottom of my heart, for your courage, your tireless efforts, your enthusiasm and energy. Thank you for your commitment to building an america thats fairer, kinder, more compassionate, and yes, equal. [cheering and applause] now, you know, since the election, one of the most common common questions people have asked me is, how did you even get out of bed . [laughter] yes. Ill be honest. There were times when it was tempted just to pull the covers up over my head. But instead, i spent time with family and friends. I watched a lot of h. D. T. V. And i went into my own frenzy of organizing closets and drawers in our house. Played with our two sweet dogs. Did some yoga, including a technique called alternate nostril breathing, which i highly recommend. And, yes, i also had my fair share of chardonnay. [cheering] i detail all this in my book, my book, what happened, because everybody gets knocked down, right . And we need to share our best experiences and how we get back up. Crowd member yeah [whistling] so these days, as a person, i am ok. But as an american, i am really concerned. I am concerned about what the future holds for our country and for so many americans. Joy to thinkith about all of the friends and people i have met over the years who can now marry, raise a family, serve their country, live proudly and open late in ways that once seemed unimaginable. [applause] but it makes my heart sink to to know that so much of the progress we worked for, celebrated, maybe even started to take a little bit for granted, is nowhere near as secure as we had hoped. That is where each of you and the Human Rights Campaign comes in. H. R. C. Has always stood for progress, for a future that is better than the past. You have changed hearts, minds, and laws. You have learned from devastating losses and come back weiss as come back twice as strong to celebrate historic wins. Lines ofn the front the fight for full equality for lgbt americans and all americans. So to paraphrase a song i love, i hope you still got a lot of fight left in you. [applause] because we have some tough rattles ahead. There is the battle for Affordable Health care. Every Time Congress tries to repeal the Affordable Care act, they are not just trying to rip away health care for millions of people, they are trying to roll back the law that made it illegal for Insurance Companies because oferage Sexual Orientation or gender identity. [applause] not only that, by gutting funding for h. I. V. And aids research, they are threatening to undo decades of our progress towards an aidsfree generation. I will never forget the palpable dealings of pain and loss on the National Wall when bill and i viewed the aids quilt for the first time or the determination of aids activists that i met from los angeles to new york, who were literally fighting for their lives and reminding us that silence equals death. We cannot and will not go back to those days [cheering and applause] and pay attention, my friends, because embedded in this horrible,irresponsible, cruel and mean spirited giveaway to the richest of americans called tax reform, is a 500 billion cut in medicare and a 1 trillion cut in medicaid. [booing] that is exactly the appropriate response. [laughter] but dont boo. Call the congress and tell them you will not stand for that. [cheering and applause] right now we are also facing a battle to reprint at the rights of Transgender Americans. Like you, i was just shocked when the administration rolled back protections for transgender students. They are also rolling them back for students with disabilities and so many other advances to protect those who are vulnerable. Picturing theop faces of the children and teenagers i have met who bravely spoke out about bullying and harassment, that they face a school, and the families who are so desperate to help and protect them. I was outraged when i read on president at the wanted to ban transgender people from serving in the military. Crowd member no [booing] you know and he knows, transgender people have fought and died for this country from our very beginning. [cheering and applause] they are serving in uniform with distinction right now. And the suggestion that Transgender Americans are unfit to serve is insulting and wrong. [cheering and applause] [whistling] after all, having the worlds best military does not just mean having the best trained forces or the biggest arsenal, it means standing up for our values. And around the world, hundreds of millions of people live in places where they can be arrested, even executed, for being gay. Accounts from chechnya are terrifying. With more than 100 gay and bisexual men being taken from their homes and families and detained in secret prisons. Last month, six men were arrested for promoting Sexual Deviancy after waving a pride flag any concert in egypt. Incidents like these should really alarm every american. And so should the fact that just United Stateso actually voted against a Un Security Council resolution to condemn the use of the Death Penalty as punishment for consensual samesex relationships. [booing] that, i thought maybe i had read it wrong. That maybe i somehow got a double negative mixed up in there. But no. That is exactly what our country voted against. A resolution to condemn the use of the Death Penalty for consensual samesex relationships. After an outcry from the human rights and many others, the state department attempted to clarify their position. But the fact remains, the United States should not be shirking our responsibility to defend the human rights of lgbt people around the globe. [cheering and applause] we should be leading that leading that fight. It is why i went to geneva to shine a light on human rights issues. Its why i called on heads of state to stop the persecution of innocent people and i announced the first u. S. Government strategy dedicated to combating human rights abuses against lgbt people abroad. And as i said that day, and as i believe more fiercely than ever now, gay rights are human rights, and human rights are gay rights. [cheering and applause] now. [whistling] now, you know. These attacks on the lgbt community, here and around the world, are striking and scary. Imagine what it positiono be in the that so many people still find country,s in, in our people who cannot afford to come to this great dinner and who look so terrific in their fancy, theyiful outfit, because live somewhere in america where they are still afraid to be the they are and to love who they love. So i cannot pretend to understand what that feels like. But i do know what it feels like to be torn down and attacks. And i want you to know i am with you. [cheering and applause] today, tomorrow, for the long haul. I will not be silenced, and i hope you will not be either. [cheering and applause] and you know what . That is a promise from one hrc to another. [cheering and applause] but, there is good news, even in these perilous times. We are seeing glimmers of hope in the wave of grassroots activism across america. Organizationew called onward together. I want to encourage more people to get involved, to lead, to run for office, even will and grace are calling their members of congress, for heaven sake. We cannot stop there. We have to stay engaged at every level. In 2017,t wrong that you can lose your job, lose your home, or if this administration gets its way, be denied a wedding cake simply because of who you are or who you love. And the laws that we have seen in places like North Carolina and mississippi that would give states and businesses a license to discriminate underscore how urgent this is. We cannot rely on this administration or the Supreme Court to uphold lgbt writes. Passed to be agitating, to the equality act, to guarantee full federal equality for the lgbt community. [cheering and applause] when people in positions of positions of power trying to curry favor from groups that embrace dangerous practices like socalled conversion therapy or make cruel jokes that strike fear into the hearts of this community it sends an , unmistakable message, to lesbian, gay, bisexual and Transgender Americans, you dont you do not matter. You are not welcome. And when the Republican Senate candidate in alabama supports the idea that homosexuality should be criminalized and refuses to say whether or not he thinks lgbt people should be executed, americans of every party, of any decency, democrats, republicans, and independence, should line up and condemned him and those use. [cheering and applause] [whistling] and that includes the president , the Senate Majority leader, the speaker of the house, and every single elected official who endorses a candidate with those views. They should be held accountable. Proverb an old mexican that says tell me with whom you walk and i will show you who you are. Whether or not we are willing to accept this kind of a good tree and hatred speaks volumes about who we are as a country. But, all of the words that i can use, all of the wonderful enthusiastic applause that you can give me, none of it matters if you do not get out to vote in every election, not just the president ial one. [cheering and applause] because at all levels of government, we have to work to elect candidates who will not only say the right things, but do the right things, who will stand up not only for lgbt writes but the rights of immigrants and refugees, civil rights, womens rights, stand up for religious freedom, freedom of the press, the right of people to live and worship freely. Who Will Champion human rights and democracy, not only at home and around the world but as Eleanor Roosevelt once said, in the small places close to home . Live,reets where people the schools they attend, the factories, farms, and offices where they work. About a month and a half ago i spoke at the Memorial Service in new york for edie windsor, who was instrumental in the fight for marriage in marriage equality. Her lawyer, my friend, gave a beautiful eulogy. She said something that stuck with me that i want to share with you. No human being ever gets to complete the work of liberation. In other words, if we die or retire with a sense that our work is complete, then we know that we know that we have not aimed high enough. We stand on the shoulders of generations who have come before, activist and advocates like edie or those at stonewall, elected officials like harvey kickedo click you down the closet door. Everyone who risked their job, home, even their lives to fight for fundamental rights and dignity for all people. And everyone who continues to fight today. Jim overfell, who is here, a i champion. Like judy and dennis shepard. The survivors and family members of loved ones lost at pulse,railblazers like laverne cox leaders like my dear friend, chad griffin, and countless individuals across america whose names we may never know who are changing our country and the world through quiet acts of bravery. They are coming out, speaking in, resistant resisting justice is large and small. Our work is not complete. What do we do now . Theres really only one answer. With have to keep going. We have to support each other. We have to strive for the more Perfect Union. To build the Brighter Future that every child deserves. Willing to to be speak truth to power, whoever is on the receiving end. [applause] i would have much preferred to have come to the dinner tonight from a slightly closer residence. [cheering and applause] but. [cheering and applause] but, you know yeah. There are still unanswered questions. I did the best i can in my book. But it does strike me that in the last few days, at least fox news seems to think that is where i live, in the white house. [laughter] because they spend a disproportionate amount of their time talking about impeaching me. [laughter] so, look, if they want to make a trade, i would be more than willing. [cheering and applause] but until then, remember, lets keep going keep fighting never give up thank you, h. R. C. [cheering and applause] please welcome h. R. C. s director of outreach and engagement, alejandro avila. Good evening. The person i have the honor of introducing is no stranger to you. He is someone who does not back down or given. Today, he is leading hrc as we face some of our toughest battles yet. Under his leadership, hrc has opened new fronts in the fight for full polity in order to reach more people than ever before. From expanding our work in the deep south and around the globe, to spearheading a renewed focus on combating the spread of hiv and aids. Two confronting the epidemic of antitrans violence and lodging the largest effort in the history of our movement, he is someone who knows how to get things done. Watch hrc and chad in action. It has been a year of heartbreak. Forces buildsal on hate and fear are threatening decades of progress. Antidiscrimination protections, transgender students. Take two of the trumps controversial travel ban. With one signature on a visa paper, our lives completely changed. Total ban on transgender individuals. But we faced these attacks with four and proved that no one can stop us when we stand together. North carolina governor pat curry conceding the governors race hardly because of the backlash from the divisive hb2 bathroom bill he signed. Protests erupting at the white house. We see you. Were here for you. Weve got your back. The Human Rights Campaign. 800 parents from the Human Rights Campaign sent a letter to President Trump asking him to protect transgender students. A lot of strong backlash yesterday from the Human Rights Campaign. And that is why the Human Rights Campaign opposes his nomination. Were the Human Rights Campaign. So now as president , he actually has a boss. So where there is a law, we will smash through it. Where there is an injustice, we will overcome it. In an effort to make sure that no one in city of birmingham is discriminated against, and if they are, the city is going to do something about it. The chechen government is hunting down gay men and beating them. To the corridors of power in washington. People are of counting on us. Now is not a time to be polite now is a time for action and action alone the largest lgbt organization in the country set to announce a Funding Campaign against President Trumps agenda. And with your help, we will keep fighting until every person has the equal rights and equal dignity they deserve, because that is what the Human Rights Campaign is all about. And i want to remind donald trump of one more thing. Is as diverse as the fabric of our nation. We are muslims we are jewish we are women we are black, white and latino were immigrants, and we are people with disabilities. And when you attack one of us, you are attacking all of us. Please join me in welcoming hrc president , chad griffin. My friends, thank you, thank you. Thank you very much. Thank you for that kind introduction. Not a single day goes by that i am not blown away by the entire hrc staff and i want to thank each and every one of them for the work they do for this organization and this movement. [cheering and applause] and by the way, how amazing is Hillary Clinton . Why a majority of the American People chose her to be president of the United States . [applause] thank you for being here, hillary, and for continuing to use your powerful voice for good. To each andu everyone of you for being here tonight. Especially my sweet southern mother and stepfather who are here from arkansas. [applause] say, it has been a very long 281 days since donald trump took that both of office. Not that any of us are counting. Honestly, it seems like forever that before donald trump and mike pence, the future seemed brighter for lesbians, gays, transsexual and transgender people. We still had a long way to go but we in the community had more reasons to feel hopeful. I think a lot about the young people who had only known the progress we achieved under president obama. Young people like my friend lucas, an amazing kid who just graduated from high school in arkansas where my sister is a counselor. As14, lucas came out transgender and immediately began transforming the world around him. He traveled around the state, educating other students and teachers about what it means to be transgender. Hrc youthcame an ambassador. Ine some people growing up the obama era, he knew the future had so much to offer him. He was determined to seize every opportunity. Lucas, it meant going to college in joining the rotc so that he could serve our country in uniform. [applause] but three months ago, a tweaked turned lucass world upside down. I will never forget the moment i saw a male from him in my inbox with the subject line military transgender ban. My heart sank. President trump was banning trans people from serving in the military. Lucas bridged out to me that reached out to me that day hoping i could tell him it is not an end to the future he had dreamed of. He is here tonight with his mom. I want you to know, hrc stands with you. Everyone in this room stands with you. And i promise you, you will achieve everything you set your mind to. [applause] all of us here tonight, we must reclaim the future of this nation for lucas, and for everyone out there who today feels less hopeful and more fearful because of donald trump. I get it. Living through this moment can be exhausting. Every time we think that the president s behavior cannot get more erratic, that his words cannot get more repugnant, it is light it is like clockwork. A news alert lights of our phones to prove us wrong yet again. It is one thing to simply give up and tune out and turn it all off, but you know what, that is exactly what trump, pants, and the entire cabinet of deplorables are hoping we do. They want us to stop paying attention. To stop paying attention long enough for them to implement their biggest blueprints for america. But we cannot back down. Together we have to hold Donald Trumps tiny little hands could the fire every single day. Fire every single day. For the past nine months, that is what we have done. Have called, lobbied and urged our lawmakers to protect our civil rights. We have exposed lie after lie through a war room that works day and night to call out this administration at every turn. We have challenged this president s unconstitutional assault on trans groups. We stood shoulder to shoulder with our allies across movements to defend the rights of all americans. Our resistance is working. Just look at what happened when this president tried not once, not twice, but three times to rip away health care from 30 million americans. You, hrc 65,000 of members and supporters called your senators, lobbied your representatives, and make your voices heard. And today, planned parenthood stores are still open and the Affordable Care act is still the law of the land. Resistance is critically important. Resisting,ile we are we are also mobilizing to win. If anyone doubts what we can accomplish when well stand to goer, you tell them see how former North Carolina governor is doing these days. [applause] countryr we showed the and the world what happens when politicians try to use our lives and our families to scare up vote. After pat mcclory launched that unprecedented attack on our community with his despicable organized, mobilized, and turned out hundreds of thousands of voters. Mccrory, wedefeated sent a message that if you come for us, we will come for you on election day. And today, we are replicating our model from that victory in battles nationwide. Thanks to your support, we have , the single rising largest grassroots expansion in this our nation in 37 years. It is critical we mobilize and organize the 10 million lgb t q which by this country the way is a voting block larger than the margin of victory of every president ial election since 1984. We also need to turn out the 52 million eight quality voters that we have identified. Families, friends, and allies. Those who are willing to make a candidates position on equality be the deciding factor in who gets their vote. Hrc rising is deploying dozens of field organizers, registering voters, recruiting volunteers, training new activist, and mobilizing equality quality voters to elect candidates up and down the ballot. And on top of our strategy, we winfocused on six must states. Ohio, pennsylvania, michigan, wisconsin, arizona, and nevada. Towe are going to put a stop this president s hateful agenda, if we are going to pass the equality act and accelerate the pace of our progress, we need more quality champions in washington working beside us. Arebama we going to make sure that Tammy Baldwin and others are waiting in that champ that chamber to greet him. It is on us. It is on all of us to seize this moment. We must seize it for everyone who still encounters discrimination and bigotry. We must seize it for trans women of color who face an epidemic of hate violence. We must seize it for this next generation, so that for years from now, around the time when lucas will be graduating from college, lgbtq young people across this country will turn on this tv and not see a president attacking and demeaning them, but a president signing the equality act into law. [applause] this fight ahead of us will not be easy and we certainly will not win every battle, but i promise you, we will win the war. We will win because each of every because of each and every one of you, our grassroots armin e army of 3 million strong. We have never been more eager to participate and to fight back. When we all emerge from this national nightmare, when we prevail in 2018 and 2020, it is this president s catastrophic compulsion to bully, lie, and divide that will have sparked a great awakening of our democracy. Throughout our history, america the promise of a more Perfect Union has faced countless roadblocks. For every step we take, there is some trying to drag us two steps back. But it is through setbacks that our greatest movement and fair fit fiercest fighters have emerged. From the Civil Rights Movement to black lives matter, from womens suffrage to the womens march, from farm workers who are organized to immigrants who dared to dream, and this movement, the lgbtq Equality Movement like so many others, is forged from fire. It was harassment i believe that backgbtq people to fight at stonewall, sparking a nationwide movement. It was our governments own in to the thousands of lies lost to aids that awakened the world. It led 83yearold widow from new york to take her case to the highest law in the land and win. It was the cruelty of ohios knowrs that let the world the name [indiscernible] it is in these great moments of struggle and strife that we rise. It is through our resistance to tyrants and persistence towards justice that we change the course of history. Harvey milk said and give people hope. Fierce urgencyhe of now and remember that yes we can, and that we are stronger together. The next chapter of our Great American story is waiting to be written. And we, of people who turn heart who forged aion, way to conquer hate with love, who taught the world the power of pride, we will be the ones to write it. Thank you very much. Thank you [cheering and applause] please welcome [indiscernible] you all will get your dinner soon, please stick with me. Good evening. I hope you will sit tight for a few moments so i can tell you my story. I am here to ask you to join the federal club, but first i want to tell you about my incredible family. I have been married to adam for 16 years. We have two beautiful children. Ethan is 13, loves fancy cars and junk food. Allie is nine and loves gymnastics and dancing. When allie was in kindergarten, she asked to sign up for dance class. I never expected or wanted to be a dance mom. I found myself at the dance studio on registration day, totally surrounded by dance moms. And i was filled with anxiety. , eli,setting up my child for dance class. [applause] eli was living parttime at home as a girl and asked us to use the name allie. We called him allie at home and when we were out with the family, we did not know where this was going. Did we have a gay son . Wore girls clothes only at home. Eventually, at of the house, but only on weekends. But it was more than clothes and long hair, it was not about looking like a girl. It was about being a girl. When it was my turn at the registration desk, i realized i had not thought this through. How was i going to fill out the forms . . Hich class would we choose what would be requirements be . I started to panic. I got through it. I filled out the paperwork. It seemed painless. Then she pointed to her door down the hallway and told us what to buy for class. Say a word, my child was trying on ballet slippers. Before i could respond, she said, trust me, you will need a pair of tight. I said, trust me, we are going to need a hell of a lot or the not. By this point, im thinking ballet shoes and tights and what are we going to do . I going to pull this off . Something. Saw face,my childs beaming smiling from ear to ear, and i knew that i had to hold the saw i had to pull this off. [applause] and i dont just mean the dance uniform. I mean all of it. Child aing to give my soft place to land. I was going to fight her fight. [applause] so we buy shoes, tights, leotards, and head for the car. As we are about to step off the sidewalk i hear the director call out to us. I just had a question, she said really, just one . Really, just one . [laughter] what name would you like us to use, she said. [applause] i looked down at my little ballerina and said, what name should we use . Allie, she said. Allie, i told the director. [applause] she walked away leaving allie and me standing on the sidewalk Holding Hands and the sidewalk became a rebirth of sorts. It was not just a moment when allie was given new life, but it was also the moment they gave new life to allie. [applause] i have attended several hrc galas and asked allie if she would like to attend. Her typical response is, that transgender stuff is more your thing, not really my thing. [laughter] and she is right. It should not be her thing, she is nine. [applause] it should be our thing. Isnt that why we are here tonight . [applause] i have been able butelp allie pave her way for her and the other lgbt people across the country, it scares me and it makes me angry. It is bs. [applause] know, i know that hrc exists to fight for all of us, especially those who cannot fight for themselves. Last year i was sitting at a dinner just like you are and adam and i knew that it order to prevent allie from facing some of the battles and heartbreak that so many of you in this room have had to face, we needed to join the federal club. And now it is your turn. Us, and i amith asking you personally to do more to support hrc. Whether you are lgbtq, and allied, a veteran, or a firsttime attendee, we need your help. Help to make sure that everyone knows that we have their backs. [applause] there are pledge cards on your table. I want you to pick one up. And a pen. Go ahead, pick them up, turn on the pens, they light up. Seriously, i am a mom, do not make me count to 10. Pick up the pen, and now fill it out. It is 100 a month and it is the most immediate way to support hrc. If you are already a member, please consider increasing your support to demonstrate your commitment for our work. Can, pleaseo consider becoming a major donor. Starting at 5,000 a year, your gift is taxdeductible and Sports Foundation programs for hrc. Some of you may work for companies to do that and tonight sponsors also offer the same benefit. A great way to support the foundation. There is no limit on your gift to support quality. New federal fund members and 20 new major donors. To help kickoff, a group of donors have issued a challenge. Donors will match up to 500,000 if we can rate raise that in the room right now. Please give as generously as you can. Not just a novelty, they are there to help you see the cards so you can fill them out. You are only allowed to keep the light up had if you complete a pledge card. [laughter] in just a few moments, our volunteers will be circulating to pick up those cards. Countless people rely on us to push our Movement Forward to fight the fight. Eople just like my son just like my alley. Please give as much as you can tonight. Be as generous as you can, because we need you. Thank you. [applause]