President Joe Biden issued a presidential proclamation recognising June as Pride Month, vowing to fight for full equality for the LGBTQ community to be codified into law.
The official acknowledgment of Pride, a month typically defined for many in the community by marches, parades and parties across the United States, offered Biden his latest opportunity to contrast his own priorities with those of his most recent predecessor.
“During LGBTQ+ Pride Month, we recognize the resilience and determination of the many individuals who are fighting to live freely and authentically,” Biden wrote in a presidential proclamation declaring June Pride Month.
Nearly 14% of U.S. President Joe Biden’s 1,500 federal agency appointees identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer, he said
Biden cited what he called a tragic spike in violence against transgender people, especially transgender women of color and LGBTQ youth who face bullying and harassment in academic settings and run the risk of self-harm and death by suicide.
Last year, President Donald J. Trump steadfastly ignored Pride, refusing to acknowledge the celebration with even a presidential tweet. Embassies overseas were prohibited from flying the Pride flag.
The Trump administration also rolled back a 2016 regulation that mandated health care as a civil right for transgender patients under the Affordable Care Act, and activists worried that their rights were being systematically scrubbed after L.G.B.T. rights pages quietly disappeared in 2017 from the official White House website and other federal websites.
On his first day in office, Biden signed an executive order directing federal agencies to protect LGBTQ people under all federal laws that prohibit discrimination based on sex.
