Attorney General Eric Holder delivered a major speech on LGBT rights to the parliament of Sweden—the Riksdag—today in Stockholm. The Attorney General described LGBT rights as one of the "civil rights challenges of our time"and called for an international movement to fight anti-LGBT discrimination.
Holder's remarks are only days before the opening of the Sochi 2014 Olympics. Russia's poor record on human and LGBT rights are likely to continue to dominate news coverage. Video has not yet been uploaded of Holder's speech but two highlights from the transcript:
Just as our forebears came together to overcome tremendous adversity – and to forge the more just and more equal societies in which we now live – so, too, must the current generation rise to the causes that have become the struggles of our day; the defining civil rights challenges of our time. I believe one of these struggles is the fight for equality for our lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender – or LGBT – citizens.
Holder also referenced the Supreme Court's historic decision on June 26, 2013 to strike down Section Three of the Defense of Marriage Act in United States v. Windsor. Section Three banned federal recognition of legally married same-sex couples and denies more than 1,000 benefits, such as Social Security, pension benefits and preferential tax treatment.
This marked a major victory for the cause of equal protection under U.S. law, and a significant step forward for committed and loving couples throughout the country. Today, these couples and their families are one step closer to the equal treatment, and the full recognition, to which they, their loved ones, and their children are entitled.
The speech was "perhaps the strongest statement of his career at the Justice Department in favor of expanding LGBT rights," noted the Washington Post.
The Attorney General also highlighted the Obama Administration's other accomplishments on LGBT issues, such as pushing for the end of "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" and protections for LGBT domestic violence victims that were added to the Violence Against Women Act.
Holder also discussed other human rights challenges such as terrorism, human trafficking and gender inequality, economic justice and racial discrimination.
Holder announced on January 10 that the Obama Administration will recognize the 1300 plus same-sex marriages that were performed in Utah—-despite that state's decision not to recognize those marriages pending a decision in the federal court system.
Sweden is generally regarded as one of the global leaders in human rights. It was the first nation to mandate a parental leave act and one of the first to ban discrimination nationwide against its LGBT citizens. Sweden became the seventh nation to mandate equal marriage in 2009 by an overwhelming vote. At least fourteen nations mandate equal marriage today—Argentina, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, Denmark,France, Iceland, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Portugal, Spain, South Africa, Sweden and Uruguay. Some jurisdictions in Brazil, Mexico and the USA also allow same-sex marriage. Legislation has been approved to mandate equal marriage in England, Wales and Scotland later this year.