[TEXT: Equal Rights]
00:00:01.300,00:00:03.867
I am talking about gay, lesbian,
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bisexual and transgender
people.
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Human beings born free
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and given bestowed equality and
dignity,
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who have a right to claim that,
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which is now one of the
remaining
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human rights challenges of our
time.
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Some seem to believe it is a
Western phenomenon,
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and, therefore, people outside
the West
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have grounds to reject it.
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Well, in reality, gay people are
born into,
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and belong to, every society in
the world.
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They are all ages, all races,
all faiths.
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They are doctors and teachers,
farmers and bankers,
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soldiers and athletes.
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And whether we know it or
whether we acknowledge it,
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they are our family, our
friends, and our neighbors.
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Being gay is not a
Western invention.
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It is a human reality.
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Now we must go further, and work
here
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and in every region of the world
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to galvanize more support for
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the human rights of the
LGBT community.
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To the leaders of those
countries
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where people are jailed, beaten,
or executed for being gay,
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I ask you to consider this:
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Leadership, by definition,
means being out
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in front of your people when it
is called for.
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It means standing up for the
dignity of all your citizens and
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persuading your people to do the
same.
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Be on the right side of history.
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[TEXT: Stand with us. Share your
story at]
00:01:39.667,00:00:00.000
[TEXT: facebook.com/ejournalusa
facebook.com/democracychallenge
Produced by the U.S. Department of State]