Presumed Democratic presidential
nominee Joe Biden on Monday recognized LGBT Pride Month.
In his statement, Biden said that “much
work remains” in the fight for LGBT equality.
“Despite our progress, much work
remains,” Biden wrote. “As our nation grapples with the
uncomfortable truths of systemic racism, a devastating pandemic
that’s claimed more than 100,000 lives in the United States and
left more than 40 million people filing for unemployment, and a
president that’s waged an all-out assault on the rights of our most
vulnerable, including LGBTQ+ people, we are reminded of why those
first brave souls took to the streets to march 50 years ago.”
President Donald Trump last year
recognized Pride in a tweet, becoming the first Republican president
to do so. But he has yet to sign an official proclamation recognizing
June as Pride Month.
“Pride has come to be recognized as a
global movement of love, self-expression, and community – resilient
in the face of oppression and fear and hopeful for a better future,”
Biden said. “This month, let us recommit to those principles of
Pride and remain steadfast in the fight for justice and equality.”
Biden also remembered LGBT activists
who died in recent weeks, including Larry Kramer, an AIDS activist
and author, Aimee Stephens, a transgender plaintiff in an LGBT
workplace discrimination lawsuit before the Supreme Court, and Lorena
Borjas, a transgender immigrant activist.
Biden also repeated his campaign
promise to “swiftly” reverse the Trump administration's anti-LGBT
policies.