Hours before President Donald Trump gave his State of the Union address, actor and activist Billy Porter gave his second annual LGBTQ State of the Union address on Logo’s YouTube channel on Feb. 4.
“Last year I told you that the state of our union was strong,” Porter said. “While it certainly has been battered, our union is far from broken.”
The “Pose” star called out the president for his discrimination against the LGBTQ community, naming specific events that have left a negative impact on the community.
Porter mentioned how Trump discharged transgender service members back in 2017, how he expanded a rule that would allow health practitioners to discriminate against LGBTQ people and how he removed protections for federally funded homeless shelters for transgender people.
Porter also touched on hate crimes and how 2019 was “the deadliest year on record for transgender Americans,” with at least 26 transgender people killed according the Human Rights Campaign.
“This heinous violence against trans people, which disproportionately affects trans women of color, is nothing short of an epidemic,” he added.
Despite talking about the “heartbreaking setbacks” happening within America, he discussed the major LGBTQ achievements around the world, such as Brazil’s Supreme Court banning homophobia and transphobia, and several countries legalizing same-sex marriage.
“I’ve been so proud to see the wave of everyday citizens protesting in the streets, engaging with their local governments, running for office and speaking out in hopes of righting the wrongs occurring all around them,” Porter said.
After also noting the progress recently made within the U.S., he ended his speech with a reminder that the community, and the country, need to come together end discrimination and protect each other.
“Every act of kindness is a blow against cruelty,” Porter said. “Every act of empathy is a blow against bigotry. Every act of courage is a blow against cowardly self-interest. And every act of love is a blow against hate.”
Watch the LGBTQ State of the Union below.
