White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre. (Washington Blade photo by Christopher Kane)
White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre on Oct. 11 acknowledged National Coming Out Day.
“Today, the Biden-Harris administration joins Americans across the country to celebrate National Coming Out Day,” she said in a statement to the Washington Blade honoring the annual Oct. 11 observance.
“This administration stands with the LGBTQ+ community. We have your back. We are in this fight with you. And we will continue to speak up, speak out, and stand up for our rights and freedoms,” the press secretary said.
“The attacks we are seeing on people simply because of who they are, who they love, and how they live their lives are abhorrent and dangerous. Homophobia thrives in an atmosphere of silence and ignorance. So we can’t and we won’t be silent,” she said.
Jean-Pierre added, “That is why today is so important. But this is bigger than one day. This administration understands that — and we will continue to work to stand up for everyone’s rights and freedoms and advance equality for the LGBTQI+ community.”
During last year’s press briefing on Oct. 11, 2022, a few months after she became the first openly LGBTQ White House press secretary, Jean-Pierre shared her own coming out story.
“Being gay in my family wasn’t something that you mentioned out loud or celebrated,” she said.
Eventually, Jean-Pierre said, her family “grew to accept” her, but equality for LGBTQ Americans remains “something we continue to strive toward and fight for, particularly as we continue to see a wave of anti-LGBTQ legislation across the country.”
“We are thinking about those who are coming out or those who are thinking about coming out, and we are here for you, and we will continue to support you,” the press secretary added.
Meanwhile on Oct. 11 the Human Rights Campaign published three Coming Out Guides: Coming Out: Living Authentically as Black LGBTQ+ Americans, Coming Out: Living Authentically as LGBTQ+ Latine Americans and Coming Out: Living Authentically as LGBTQ+ Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians and Pacific Islanders.
HRC noted this year’s observance comes one day before the 25th anniversary of the murder of Matthew Shepard in an anti-gay hate crime that shocked the nation.
“Despite the progress made over the preceding decades, the hatred that took Matthew Shepard’s life is on the rise in the country,” the group wrote. “Over the past year, there have been over 520 anti-LGBTQ+ bills introduced in state legislatures around the country; most recently, right-wing extremists in Congress threatened a government shutdown that would harm the livelihoods of thousands because they were unwilling to focus on the needs of the country instead of attacking the LGBTQ+ community.”
