Loretta Lynch’s Enlightened Defense of Transgender People; New York Times, 5/9/16

Ernesto Londono, New York Times; Loretta Lynch’s Enlightened Defense of Transgender People:

"In her remarks on Monday, Ms. Lynch, a native of North Carolina, seemed to go further than other administration officials in casting the quest for transgender equality as a civil rights movement. She did so with grace and conviction.

“This is about the dignity and respect we accord our fellow citizens and the laws that we, as a people and as a country, have enacted to protect them – indeed, to protect all of us,” the attorney general said. “And it’s about the founding ideals that have led this country – haltingly but inexorably – in the direction of fairness, inclusion and equality for all Americans.”

Ms. Lynch acknowledged that the support for bathroom bills and other discriminatory measures “reflect a recognizably human fear of the unknown.” But, she added: “This is a time to summon our national virtues of inclusivity, diversity, compassion and open-mindedness. What we must not do – what we must never do – is turn on our neighbors, our family members, our fellow Americans, for something they cannot control, and deny what makes them human.”

Ms. Lynch concluded her remarks with comforting words for transgender people who are unsettled and frightened by a political debate that has included plenty of crude, hateful and even violent messages.

“This country was founded on a promise of equal rights for all, and we have always managed to move closer to that promise, little by little, one day at a time,” Ms. Lynch said. “It may not be easy – but we’ll get there together.”"