In Recognizing Pride Month, Joe Biden Remembers Larry Kramer, Aimee Stephens
- By
- Carlos Santoscoy
- | June 01, 2020
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.