“Danny O’Connor is a proven leader who will stand up in the U.S. Congress for Ohio’s working families, and work to move equality forward across the Buckeye State,” said HRC Ohio State Director Shawn Copeland.“HRC is proud to endorse his bid to represent the people of Ohio’s 12th District in Congress, and we look forward to his victory in the special election on August 7.”

“If you work hard and play by the rules, you deserve to get ahead, no matter what zip code you're from, who you love, or how you identify,” said Danny O’Connor. “It's my honor to be an ally of our proud LGBTQ community and their loved ones, and I'm humbled to be endorsed by the Human Rights Campaign and the women and men who came before them in the fight for equality. We've got to defend that legacy, and I stand ready to fight for equality as a member of Congress.” 

Throughout his entire career and as the current Franklin County Recorder, O’Connor has championed equality, justice and fairness for all of Ohio’s working families. As a staunch advocate for LGBTQ equality, O’Connor supports marriage equality; legislation to increase funding for HIV and AIDS prevention and treatment; and the Equality Act, landmark federal legislation that would provide the same basic nondiscrimination protections to LGBTQ people as other protected groups under federal law. In 2015, O’Connor also submitted an amicus brief in support of the petitioners in the Obergefell v. Hodges marriage equality case at the Supreme Court of the United States.

In Ohio, HRC has identified more than 1.8 million “Equality Voters” -- voters who support LGBTQ-inclusive policies including marriage equality, equitable family law, and laws that would prohibit discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity. HRC has prioritized investments and organizing in Ohio in the 2018 cycle, and has already put staff and resources on the ground in the state. Last year, HRC announced a coast-to-coast campaign called HRC Rising, which represents the largest grassroots expansion in the organization’s 38-year history.

The Human Rights Campaign is America’s largest civil rights organization working to achieve equality for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer people. HRC envisions a world where LGBTQ people are embraced as full members of society at home, at work and in every community.
 
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