First lady Jill Biden touted the Biden administration’s work to help the LGBT community during a keynote address at the Human Rights Campaign‘s fundraising dinner in Los Angeles. She spent part of the speech making a historical comparison between “book bans” and Nazi Germany during World War II.
“History teaches us that democracies don’t disappear overnight,” Biden said Saturday.
She added, “They disappear slowly. Subtly. Silently. A book ban. A court decision. A ‘don’t say gay’ law. Before World War II, I’m told, Berlin was the center of LGBTQ culture in Europe.”
“One group of people loses their rights. And then another, and another. Until one morning you wake up and you no longer live in a democracy,” the first lady said.
Biden was referencing the censorship, book bans, and book burning that were conducted in Nazi Germany and Austria in the 1930s, likening them to parents who frequently attended school board meetings starting in 2021 and expressed outrage over explicit and pornographic books appearing in school libraries or a child’s curriculum.
The first lady has been a vocal supporter of the LGBT community and made similar comments last October.
“America, my friends, we do not ban books,” she said at the PFLAG National Convention in Arlington, Virginia.
On Saturday, the first lady also celebrated her husband‘s LGBT victories.
“Thanks to President Biden, marriage equality is now the law of the land. He ended the ban on gay and bisexual men donating blood. He’s made it possible for trans Americans to serve openly, honorably in the military. And he’s standing firmly against conversion therapy,” she said.
She highlighted his work for the transgender community despite “MAGA extremists.”
“There are victories in the small moments too, moments that would have been unimaginable just a few decades ago: being free to walk down the street as your authentic self, co-workers that use your chosen name and pronouns, communities that support you and understand you,” Biden said.
“Yes, the MAGA extremists are seeking to erase these hard-fought gains, trying to unwind all the progress we’ve made. They want us to be afraid. They want to take our victories away, but we won’t let them. Your president won’t let them. I won’t let them. We’re going to fight. And we will win,” she said.
During Saturday night’s speech, Biden remembered Nex Benedict, a nonbinary 16-year-old student who died by suicide from an overdose and drug toxicity. Activists have suggested a fight in a school bathroom was related to Benedict’s death.
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“Laws and attitudes can lead to devastating consequences, harm that can’t be undone, that leaves parents torn by grief. Parents and grandparents like Sue Benedict — may Nex rest in peace — and the countless others who have lost LGBTQ children to suicide, bullying, and hate. Parents who have stood by their kids, loved them, learned from them, but who will never have another tomorrow with them,” Biden said of Benedict. “This is our chapter of history, and it’s up to us how it ends.”
Benedict had reportedly poured water over two girls in the bathroom, which led to an altercation that lasted less than a minute. Benedict died by overdose the following day. Last week, Tulsa County District Attorney Stephen Kunzweiler determined no charges would be filed in Benedict’s death. A complete autopsy report is expected on March 27.
