Vice President Joseph R. Biden got visibly agitated Wednesday while discussing the importance of LGBT rights at an international conference.
Speaking at a gay rights meeting at the annual World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, Mr. Biden worried aloud that gay and transgender people are still treated like second-class citizens in many countries.
“LGBT people face violence, harassment, unequal treatment, mistreatment by cops, denial of health care, isolation — always in the name of culture,” Mr. Biden said, slapping a table with his hands. “I’ve had it up to here with culture. I really mean it. Culture never justifies rank, raw, discrimination or violation of human rights. There is no cultural justification. None. None. None.”
The vice president criticized countries without LGBT rights, saying “culture” never should be an excuse for discrimination.
Without naming names, Mr. Biden said he has confronted at least four heads of state from countries where LGBT people face persecution. Homosexuality is against the law in at least 75 countries participating in the conference.
“When you speak up, you change the terms of the debate,” he said.
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Mr. Biden, who is credited with pressuring President Obama to come out in support of same-sex marriage, said LGBT activists have freed straight people from having to act a certain way culturally toward the LGBT community.
“So many straight folks have been freed from this straitjacket of what they were expected — what they thought they were expected to support,” he said.
The vice president said “we still have a long way to go,” saying there are 30 states in America “where you can get married in the morning and fired at noon,” and 75 countries where gay rights are banned.
He said companies should “put the world on notice” that they’re not going to discriminate against LGBT people.
“At the end of the day, the rest of the world knows the one country where you have the best chance of being afforded dignity … is here in the United States,” he said.
The discussion was hosted by the Human Rights Campaign, Microsoft and SkyBridge Capital.
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The vice president will be doing some diplomatic outreach at the global economic forum, which annually attracts a top-drawer list of world leaders.
The White House revealed that Mr. Biden will sit down Thursday morning with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on the sidelines of the forum, just days after key elements of the U.S.-backed nuclear deal with Iran strongly opposed by Mr. Netanyahu went into effect.
Mr. Biden is also slated to meet with the leaders of Cyprus, Argentina and Iraq, along with a joint meeting with the leaders of Afghanistan and Pakistan.
• Dave Boyer can be reached at dboyer@washingtontimes.com.
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