‘We Are Hunted’: At LGBTQ Forum Protesters Demand Dem Candidates Address Violence Against Black Transgender Women

CNN: Protesters Interrupt CNN LGBTQ Town Hall To Highlight Plight Of Black Transgender Women
Protesters interrupted the CNN LGBTQ town hall on Thursday to highlight the plight of black transgender women, at one point taking the mic from a questioner. Advocates tracked the deaths of at least 26 transgender people in the US in 2018, according to the Human Rights Campaign. In 2019, at least 19 transgender people have been fatally shot or killed, according to HRC. (Sullivan, 10/10)

The Associated Press: 2020 Democratic Candidates Pledge Support To LGBTQ Community
Addressing an LGBTQ community fearful that their gains in equality are slipping, Democratic presidential candidates on Thursday promised an aggressive agenda to end workplace discrimination, improve health care and ensure protections for people who face threats, or worse, because of their sexual orientation or gender identity. At a televised forum in downtown Los Angeles, rivals for the party's nomination to challenge President Donald Trump took turns criticizing the Republican administration and detailing personal stories to underline their points before an audience of LGBTQ members, activists and supporters. (Blood, 10/10)

Los Angeles Times: Democrats Vow To Reverse Trump Rollback Of LGBTQ Rights
In back-to-back appearances at a CNN town hall in Los Angeles, the Democrats sketched out similar agendas on LGBTQ issues. One after another, they vowed to reverse President Trump’s ban on transgender people serving in the military and to outlaw discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity. The most warmly received candidate was Pete Buttigieg, the mayor of South Bend, Ind., who spoke at the last primary debate about his decision to publicly come out as gay soon after returning from war. (Finnegan, 10/10)

USA Today: Trans Women Of Color The Focus Of Protestors Who Interrupt CNN Town Hall
Audience members interrupted a CNN LGBTQ town hall on Thursday night multiple times, raising banners and calling attention to violence against transgender women of color. They first interrupted Pete Buttigieg’s opening answer, walking to the front of the room just as the South Bend, Indiana, mayor and Democratic presidential candidate was beginning to answer a question. They were holding up a transgender pride flag with the words "we are dying" written on it, shouting “Trans people are dying!” and "Do something!" (Behrmann, 10/10)

The New York Times: At CNN Equality Town Hall, Activists Took The Spotlight, And The Mic
After they had quieted down, Mr. Buttigieg turned to them, saying, “I do want to acknowledge what these demonstrators were speaking about, which is the epidemic of violence against black trans women in this country right now.” He continued, “And I believe or would like to believe that everybody here is committed to ending that epidemic, and that does include lifting up its visibility and speaking to it.” Another member of the audience interrupted Senator Kamala Harris of California, and while shouting, asked, “How do we get those men to stop killing trans women of color? We are hunted.” “I know,” Ms. Harris said, addressing the questioner, “I know.” (Medina, 10/10)

ABC News: Pete Buttigieg Defuses Protesters As 2020 Candidates Bring Campaign To LGBT Forum
Buttigieg also said he’s mindful of the fact that his experience as a gay white man has been different than that of a "black gay woman that I also do not understand." (Rodriguez, Cook and Gomez, 10/11)

CNN: Warren Jokes Men Who Think Marriage Is Between One Man And One Woman Should 'Just Marry One Woman'
Democratic presidential candidate Elizabeth Warren was met with loud applause at CNN's LGBTQ Town Hall in Los Angeles on Thursday when she joked about a potential faith-based argument against same-sex marriages. Morgan Cox, chair of the Human Rights Campaign Board of Directors, asked the Massachusetts senator how she would respond if an "old-fashioned" supporter told her that they believe marriage is between one man and one woman. "I'm going to assume it is a guy who said that," Warren started. "And I'm going to say, 'Well, then just marry one woman. I'm cool with that.'" She then paused and shrugged before finishing her joke -- "Assuming you can find one" -- with a deadpan delivery that sent the crowd into loud applause. (Iyer, 10/11)

Politico: LBGTQ Forum Highlights Biden And Warren's Contrasting Styles
Asked what [Warren] would do to ensure passage of the Equality Act in the Senate, where Republicans currently hold the majority, Warren stressed that voters have to elect more Democrats into the upper chamber because LGBTQ protections are a priority for the Democratic Party and she wants to send a message to her GOP colleagues. “We believe that equal means equal everywhere,” Warren said of Democrats. “I also say it because I want our Republican friends to hear that in the United States Senate. I want them to know that people vote based on LGBTQ issues. So I’m willing to continue to push Mitch McConnell right now, but my No. 1 goal is to make sure that he is not the majority leader come January 2021.” (McCaskill, 10/11)

CNN: 9 Takeaways From CNN's Equality Town Hall
Judy Shepard, one of the nation's foremost LGBTQ rights figures, was on hand for CNN's town hall Thursday night and asked former Vice President Joe Biden how he would reduce hate crimes against LGBTQ and marginalized communities. Shepard is the mother of Matthew Shepard, the gay 21-year-old University of Wyoming student whose 1998 murder is one of the nation's highest-profile hate crimes against LGBTQ people. ... Biden -- like other Democrats -- stressed the importance of passing the Equality Act, saying it would come "first and foremost." (Bradner, Merica, Krieg, Reston and Rocha, 10/11)

CNN: Beto O'Rourke: Conversion Therapy 'Should Be Illegal' And Is 'Tantamount To Torture'
Former Rep. Beto O'Rourke of Texas said on Thursday that conversion therapy "should be illegal" and compared the widely discredited practice that seeks to change the sexual orientation of gays, lesbians and bisexuals to torture. "As president, we will seek to outlaw it everywhere in this country," the Democratic candidate said Thursday at an LGBTQ town hall hosted by CNN and the Human Rights Campaign Foundation. "In my opinion, this is tantamount to torture. Torture that we're visiting on children who are absolutely defenseless." (Merica and Sullivan, 10/10)

CNN: Booker Cites Bible When Asked About LGBTQ Rights
2020 Democratic presidential candidate Cory Booker (D-NJ) says he has had to deal with people "using religion as a justification for discrimination" all of his life, and goes on to cite a verse in the Bible to support his idea that religion and LGBTQ rights can coexist. (10/11)