The White House hosted the largest LGBT pride event in its history Saturday.
President Joe Biden spoke at a podium on the South Lawn along with First Lady Jill Biden to ring in the month with thousands of guests including Secretary Pete Buttigieg, the first openly gay person to hold a Cabinet position, and Assistant Secretary of Health and Human Services Admiral Rachel Levine, the first openly transgender person to be confirmed by the Senate.
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“When families across the country face excruciating decisions to relocate to a different state to protect their child from dangerous ant-LGTBQ laws, we have to act,” the president addressed the crowd. “We need to push back against the hundreds of callous and cynical bills introduced in states targeting transgender children, terrifying families and criminalizing doctors and nurses.”
Biden was referring to the several states, including Idaho, Kentucky, North Dakota, Montana, Oklahoma, and Utah, considering similar drag-related restrictions.
Texas also passed a law banning children from sexual performances in both of its legislative chambers. A similar law in Tennessee was ultimately overturned by its Supreme Court. Additionally, Arkansas codified what “obscene materials” could not be distributed to minors in a law signed in March. Idaho and North Dakota attempted to legislate their libraries similarly but were ultimately vetoed by their respective Republican governors.
“Today, we say loud and clear—that you belong, that you are beautiful, that you are loved,” the first lady said. “Let it remind you that you don’t have to face those battles alone. You are never alone.”
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Among the performers there was drag queen Brita Filter, a former contestant on RuPaul’s Drag Race and bisexual singer Betty Who.
This event comes less than two weeks after Nellis Air Force Base in Nevada was slated to host a drag show on the first day of Pride Month until Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Gen. Mark Milley, reportedly intervened. The show was ultimately canceled.
