Hillary Clinton presented her "Human Rights Day Speech" on December 8, 2011. This speech was intended to be heard by everyone, not just in the United States, but all over the planet. Clinton was presenting an argument to encourage immediate action to promote equal rights for all individuals, including those in the LGBTQ community. This speech has a significant appeal to kairos in that this speech was delivered at a very critical time in the gay rights movement. Some countries were in the process of decriminalizing homosexuality, and a national debate had sparked across the United States about whether or not gay marriage should be legal. Hillary Clinton is a significant figure in world politics, she was Secretary of State at the time of the speech. When someone of her influence makes a speech, people around the world listen.
Clinton spoke about how she believes that people who classify themselves as LGBTQ should have the same rights as everyone else. Clinton brings up some of the reasons why the LGBTQ community has been treated unequally over time, including its primary opponent reason being that gay marriage goes against religious standards. However, Clinton respectfully but firmly rejects all of these as excuses to keep the original ideologies. The standards set by Clinton are that all people regardless of their sexuality should be treated fairly and equally.
This speech is similar to Dr. Franklin Kameny's "We Throw Down the Gauntlet" speech, in that they are both pressing for equal rights. The difference in their arguments are based on the time periods. Kameny was involved in a time where the LGBTQ community were being discriminated against, fired from their jobs, and basically forced into secrecy about their sexuality. Homosexuality was virtually not allowed. In Clinton's modern time period, homosexuality is more common, and more people are open about their sexuality. Clinton's goal was to provide those LGBTQ people equal rights, primarily in marriage.
I think it is also interesting to note that Hillary Clinton's LGBTQ speech was made in 2011 while Obama and Biden made official statements supporting gay marriage in May of 2012. We can interpret Clinton's speech as the start of the Obama administration coming out (pun not intended) for same-sex marriage since she was Secretary of State at the time.
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