On this annual day of commemoration, recognizing 76 years since the liberation of Auschwitz-Birkenau, we pause to remember the more than six million Jews and countless others who were victims of Nazi atrocities.

This dark period in history devastated an entire faith across Europe and also maliciously targeted people who today would identify as LGBTQ.

As we continue to move forward from the massive acts of hatred perpetrated during the Holocaust, it is incumbent on all of us to refuse to condone persecution on the basis of faith or sexuality.

We must never stay silent when human rights are threatened.