President Joe Biden. (Photo via his Facebook)
President Joe Biden issued the first formal proclamation of his administration recognizing Pride Month June 1, telling LGBTQ people both at home and abroad they should “accept nothing less than full equality.”
Biden’s proclamation kicks off Pride Month by remembering the 1969 riots at Stonewall Inn that started the modern LGBTQ movement, which he said was a “call to action that continues to inspire us to live up to our nation’s promise of equality, liberty, and justice for all.”
“Pride is a time to recall the trials the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and Queer (LGBTQ+) community has endured and to rejoice in the triumphs of trailblazing individuals who have bravely fought — and continue to fight — for full equality,” Biden writes. “Pride is both a jubilant communal celebration of visibility and a personal celebration of self-worth and dignity.”
Biden issued a Pride Month proclamation after the practice was abandoned under President Donald Trump, who largely ignored the occasion except for a solitary tweet in 2019. In contrast, former President Obama issued a Pride proclamation each of his eight years in office.
Obama also had a practice of holding an annual reception at the White House with LGBTQ leaders to commemorate Pride Month. The Biden White House, at a time when the nation is reemerging after the coronavirus pandemic, hasn’t said one way or the other whether it will hold a reception.
Biden’s proclamation also ticks off several of the LGBTQ community’s achievements, citing “historic Supreme Court rulings” that brought workplace protections and marriage equality as well as the enactment of the Matthew Shepard & James Byrd Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act in 2009, which expanded hate crimes protections under federal law.
Estimating nearly 14 percent of the 1,500 agency appointees in the Biden administration identity as LGBTQ, Biden writes the LGBTQ community is now represented “in nearly every level of public office — in city halls and state capitals, governors’ mansions and the halls of the Congress, and throughout my administration.” Among his LGBTQ appointees are Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg and Rachel Levine, assistant secretary of health.
At a time when states have enacted laws against transgender kids’ access to school sports and transition-related health care, Biden writes states have “chosen to actively target transgender youth through discriminatory bills that defy our nation’s values of inclusivity and freedom for all.”
Following the announcement his State Department would make LGBTQ human rights a priority, Biden writes he’s committed to LGBTQ rights both in the United States and overseas, closely tying two global movements to protect and advance democracy.
“LGBTQ+ rights are human rights, which is why my administration has reaffirmed America’s commitment to supporting those on the front lines of the equality and democracy movements around the world, often at great risk,” Biden writes. “We see you, we support you, and we are inspired by your courage to accept nothing less than full equality.”
Biden also name-checks the Equality Act, federal legislation that would expand the prohibition on discrimination against LGBTQ people under federal law, although the legislation is all but dead as it continues to languish in Congress.
“I will not rest until full equality for LGBTQ+ Americans is finally achieved and codified into law,” Biden writes. “That is why I continue to call on Congress to pass the Equality Act, which will ensure civil rights protections for LGBTQ+ people and families across our country.”
Concluding his proclamation, Biden says Pride Month is a time to recognize “the resilience and determination of the many individuals who are fighting to live freely and authentically.”
“In doing so, they are opening hearts and minds, and laying the foundation for a more just and equitable America,” Biden writes. “This Pride Month, we affirm our obligation to uphold the dignity of all people, and dedicate ourselves to protecting the most vulnerable among us.”
