A day after visiting a Virginia mosque to address hate crimes targeting Muslims, Attorney General Loretta Lynch traveled to New York City to meet with lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender youth at Harvey Milk High School, where she discussed anti-LGBTQ discrimination.
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"So much of what we see in terms of hate crimes or bullying or bias stems from ignorance. It stems from fear. It stems from labeling someone else as different, labeling someone else as ‘other,' not realizing that we’re all different,” Lynch said.
She went on to tell the students she often gets asked why LGBTQ equality is an important issue for her and why she doesn’t “stick to traditional civil rights issues.”
“The civil rights movement has been wonderful. I’ve benefited a great deal from it,” Lynch said, but, she added “the principles that we talked about, that my parents and grandparents fought for weren’t just for women or southerners or black people—they were for everyone.”
“It's my mission to make sure that everyone benefits form those principles,” she continued. "This is a great country, as you know, but it’s only great if everyone has a chance to participate and everyone has a chance to be seen for who they truly are."
