SAY WHAT?

I hope that every state will do what New York did on Friday, but I know that a solely state-by–state solution could mean years of pain, decades of waiting, and too many of my LGBTQ brothers and sisters left behind. A solely state-by-state solution sends a government sanctioned message to the bigots and bullies that in some states it’s OK to treat LGBT people as undeserving of equal rights. And worse still, a solely state-by-state solution will always be subject to political winds and will therefore never feel permanent.

Mr. President, please consider the LGBTQ children living in Mississippi, Arkansas, and in my home state of Texas. Are their lives less worthy of protection than those in New York, Massachusetts, and Iowa?

If the civil rights of this country’s minorities are left to the states, then this will become a checkerboard nation where some areas are free and some areas are not free. Children in some states will be told to lift their heads high and others will be told they are second-class citizens, less than, and that their love and their future families are not worthy of this nation’s protection and admiration.

--Oscar winner Dustin Lance Black crafts an excellent opinion piece for The Daily Beast.