"Even though for so many of you just coming to this event is an act of bravery, today we are here to find joy," First Lady Dr. Jill Biden told the audience on the White House lawn.
Biden acknowledged the Pride event comes amid a "push-and-pull" over LGBTQ rights — one the Human Rights Campaign has labeled a “state of emergency.”
Representatives from Kentucky, a state where Republican lawmakers recently passed sweeping legislation strongly opposed by gay rights groups, included State Sen. Karen Berg and Chris Hartman with the Fairness campaign.
Hartman told WUKY shortly after arriving in DC that the legislative push to limit gender-affirming care and impose other restrictions on the LGBTQ community is recharging the movement.
"Our community is more enraged, emboldened, and activated than ever before," Hartman said, responding to a question about safety concerns surrounding Pride events. "We're the only ones who are going to save ourselves at the end of the day and our community is so much stronger together."
Meanwhile, on the federal level, President Biden is urging Congress to deliver the Equality Act, which would incorporate protections against LGBT discrimination into the federal Civil Rights Act of 1964.
