Thu. June 1, 2023
President Joe Biden on Wednesday recognized June as LGBTQ Pride Month.
In his proclamation, Biden condemned a wave of bills that target the LGBTQ community in GOP-controlled states, calling such bills "hateful."
"In 2023 alone, State and local legislatures have already introduced over 600 hateful laws targeting the LGBTQI+ community," Biden said. "Books about LGBTQI+ people are being banned from libraries. Transgender youth in over a dozen States have had their medically necessary health care banned. Homophobic and transphobic vitriol spewed online has spilled over into real life, as armed hate groups intimidate people at Pride marches and drag performances and threaten doctors' offices and children's hospitals that offer care to the LGBTQI+ community."
While anti-transgender laws such as those that restrict access to gender-affirming care have been front and center of the debate, bills that prohibit the discussion of sexual orientation and gender identity in schools were also introduced in several states.
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis' war on "woke" – "Florida is where woke goes to die," the Republican governor and 2024 presidential candidate likes to say – has mostly targeted the transgender community, forcing some families to abandon the Sunshine State.
"Despite these attacks, the LGBTQI+ community remains resilient," Biden continued. "LGBTQI+ Americans are defiantly and unapologetically proud. Youth leaders are organizing walkouts at high schools and colleges across the country to protest discriminatory laws. LGBTQI+ young people and their parents are demonstrating unimaginable courage by testifying in State capitols in defense of their basic rights. They are not alone: My entire Administration stands proudly with the LGBTQI+ community in the enduring struggle for freedom, justice, and equality."
After listing some of his accomplishments in support of the LGBTQ community – signing the Respect for Marriage Act and a number of executive orders – Biden reiterated his call for Congress to approve the Equality Act, a federal LGBTQ protections bill.
"This month and every month, let us celebrate the pride that powers the movement for LGBTQI+ rights and commit to doing our part to help realize the promise of America, for all Americans," Biden concluded.
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