Kamala Harris, Doug Emhoff and Symone.Photo: Oliver Contreras/Sipa/Bloomberg via Getty Images
Vice PresidentKamala Harrisshowed her support for the LGBTQ+ community Sunday afternoon during an appearance at Capitol Pride in Washington.
“No one should fear going to a nightclub for fear that a terrorist might try to take them down,” Harrissaid on Sunday, which was also thesixth anniversary of the Pulse Nightclub shootingin Orlando that killed 49 people and injured 58 more.
“No one should fear going to a Pride celebration because of a white supremacist,” she said just a day after police arrested 31 people in Idaho for conspiracy to riot at a Coeur d’Alene Pride parade,CNNreported.
“No one should fear loving who they love,” she added. “Our children in Texas and Florida should not fear who they are.”
Earlier this year,Texas Gov. Greg Abbottdirected that parents of transgender kids who undergo gender-affirming surgeriesbe investigated for “child abuse.”
In Florida, educators will soon be prohibited from discussing sexual orientation and gender identity with students in kindergarten up to third grade afterFlorida Gov. Ron DeSantissigned controversial legislation that opponents have denounced as the “Don’t Say Gay” bill, according to theAssociated Press,CNNandNPR. That law is set to take effect in July, and hasinspired other Republican-led states to consider similar legislation.
And last week, Republican Bryan Slaton — a member of the Texas House of Representatives — announced that he is filing a bill that will aim to ban drag shows in the presence of minors in Texas.
“Drag shows are no place for a child,“Slaton tweetedon June 6. “I would never take my children to a drag show and I know Speaker Dade Phelan and my Republican colleagues wouldn’t either.”
Harris continued, “Black and brown and women of color, transgender women, should not fear for their lives.”
“We should not have to be dealing with 300 laws in states around our country that are attacking our LGBTQ+ brothers and sisters,” she added.
Toward the end of her remarks, she concluded with a look toward the future: “So, we know what we stand for and therefore we know what we will fight for.”
In 2020, theHuman Rights Campaignapplauded the selection of Kamala Harris to be President Joe Biden’s running mate.
“Senator Kamala Harris is nothing short of an exceptional choice for Vice President,” said Alphonso David, president of the Human Rights Campaign at the time.
In 2013, Harris officiated the first wedding between a same-sex couple following the lifting of California’s ban on same-sex marriage, for the nuptials between Proposition 8 plaintiffs Kris Perry and Sandy Stier,according to the HRC.
The organization called Harris one of “our community’s strongest allies in Congress” noting that she earned “perfect 100 on every HRC Congressional Scorecard while serving in the U.S. Senate.”
Last year, Harris became the first sitting vice president to march in a Pride event when she and her husband joined marchers for about a block,Slatereported at the time.
source: people.com
