Pelosi adds voice to ‘Better’ campaign

U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) made public on Friday a video adding her voice to the political leaders telling LGBT youth who are experiencing hardship that “it gets better” as time passes.

“To anyone who feels different, to those of you who feel lost or think you don’t fit in, to those who feel singled out because of who you are — I add my voice to the chorus of parents, friends, teachers, mentors and leaders in your neighborhoods and across the country to say, ‘It gets better,’” she says. “You are not alone.”

Recalling how over the course of U.S. history, people have “overcome barriers” for gender as well as religious and ethnic minoities, Pelosi says activists are now “doing it again for gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender Americans.”

The video comes in the wake of numerous suicides across the country of young gay men who reportedly took their own lives after they had been bullied.

“In our communities, homes and schools, and as a country, we must state clearly that bigotry and bullying have no place in our society,” she says. “Bullying contradicts our American values and our aspirations. Diversity is an American strength.”

The speaker also touts how the 111th Congress passed hate crimes protection legislation as part of its commitment to advance LGBT rights. Still, many LGBT rights supporters have been critical of how other goals are still outstanding, such as repeal of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” and passage of the Employment Non-Discrimination Act.

Watch the video here: