Dana Nessel challenges anti-LGBTQ Republicans in fiery DNC speech

Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel highlighted Vice President Kamala Harris’ record of defending LGBTQ rights at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago.

CHICAGO—Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel delivered a speech at the Democratic National Convention on Wednesday evening, where she offered a firm message to the anti-LGBTQ Republicans serving in Congress and on the United States Supreme Court.

“They can pry this wedding band from my cold, dead, gay hand,” Nessel said.

Nessel spoke for about four minutes, rallying the crowd by praising Vice President Kamala Harris and her record of going after “environmental polluters, sexual abusers, and trans-national gangs” during her time serving as the state attorney general in California from 2011 to 2017.

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Dana Nessel, Michigan’s attorney general, praised Kamala Harris on how the Vice President continually stepped up to bat for families like her own. Let us know what you think in the comments⬇️ #Michigan #NewsUpdate #DNC #DemocraticNationalConvention #Kamala #KamalaHarris #Families #Civilrights

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She also applauded Harris’ work to fight for the LGBTQ community—including when Harris famously ordered county clerks in California to begin issuing same-sex marriage licenses.

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WATCH: Vice President Kamala Harris was a supporter of gay marriage and LGBTQ rights long before it became a mainstream position in the Democratic Party.

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“Kamala Harris never shied away from a good fight,” Nessel told the crowd. “She stood up and protected her constituents’ freedoms. … She refused to argue that some families should have fewer rights than other families. It meant a lot. She was fighting for families like mine.”

A record number of LGBTQ people are serving in the state Legislature, but Nessel has remained the first and only openly LGBTQ person elected to a statewide office in Michigan.

“Kamala Harris will always be in our corner,” Nessel said. “Do we go back to the corruption, criminality, and chaos of Donald Trump? Or do we move forward with Kamala Harris? We know when she takes an oath to preserve, protect, and defend the Constitution, she’s actually read it.”

Nessel also said Harris offered support after Roe v. Wade was overturned, triggering an old state-level abortion ban, which Nessel had vowed not to enforce before it was repealed.

“Vice President Harris had my back, and she reminded me that protecting peoples’ lives and defending their rights is our job,” Nessel said. “And, just as the same-sex marriage ban was overturned in California, so too was the abortion ban in Michigan.”

In recent weeks, Nessel has been an outspoken surrogate for the Harris campaign—speaking in support of Harris’ record at a press conference in Lansing earlier this month, as well as blasting Trump this week for his refusal to denounce white supremacist demonstrations in Howell.

Watch Nessel’s full remarks at the Democratic National Convention—right here. 

READ MORE: Nessel defends Michigan’s ban on ‘destructive’ LGBTQ conversion therapy

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