Washington, DC – The Human Rights Campaign (HRC) - the nation’s largest lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer (LGBTQ+) civil rights organization - today condemned former President Donald Trump and other keynote speakers at the National NRA Convention for attacking transgender Americans while pandering to the gun lobby after a rash of mass shootings.

In response, HRC National Campaign Director Geoff Wetrosky issued the following statement:

“Anti-equality extremist politicians, led by Trump, continue to go out of their way to attack transgender Americans rather than address the real issues impacting all of us -- notably the scourge of gun violence, the leading killer of children and teens in America. This weekend, in the wake of a number of mass shootings in places like Louisville and Nashville, Trump pandered to the gun lobby and again focused his ire on an already marginalized population in a desperate attempt to rile up his base. But we know that attacking LGBTQ+ people doesn't win elections, as we saw in the 2022 midterms, and it won’t work in 2024. As long as Trump, DeSantis, and other anti-equality politicians continue these discriminatory attacks, they will have no viable pathway to victory."

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.