Despite a lot of people who’ve said they’re displeased with the level of equal rights in the gay community, Chelsea Clinton said the United States has made great progress.

The famed daughter of President Bill Clinton and possible Presidential candidate Hillary Clinton spoke out in a Las Vegas conference recently, which is the same conference where actress Ellen Page revealed she is gay.

Chelsea said that gay-rights has everything to do with the United States moving forward and bettering itself.

“I’ve often been asked why issues of equality are so important to me,” she said. “Frankly, I don’t know why they ask that question. This is about the premise and promise of our country. [It’s] always marching forward to a more perfect union. I was raised in a family where inertia is not an option.”

However, Chelsea also said that despite the progress made in recent years within the gay community, there’s still a lot to do and a lot of ground to cover, and that people shouldn’t confuse making positive strides with being completely successful.

“With all the incredible progress we had in 2013, it’s easy to think progress marks success,” she said. “We certainly shouldn’t take anything away from the historic victories in 2013…But we should not mistake progress for success. We need to continue to push for progress in communities, states and the country.”

In addition, Chelsea acknowledged that celebrities like Page and NBA player Jason Collins coming out is a great thing, and it’ll hopefully empower others to do the same.

“Now others have followed his courageous example,” she said referring to Collins. “And I hope later on this year we’ll be cheering for the first openly gay player in the NFL.”

By the looks of it, Chelsea will play a big role if her mother decides to run in the next Presidential election, and it’ll be interesting to see specifically what she’ll be doing and what her particular cause will be. There’s a good chance that it’ll be gay-rights and supporting same sex marriage, as she’s been speaking about these issues a great deal throughout the years.

Image via Wikimedia Commons