Joe Biden celebrates Pride Month at the White House, highlighting LGBT rights
- Transport Secretary Pete Buttigieg, the first openly gay person confirmed to a Cabinet post, joined the president at the White House
- A White House hallway was lit in the colours of the rainbow flag, a symbol of the LGBT movement
“Pride Month represents so much,” Biden said. “It stands for courage. The courage of all those in previous generations and today who proudly live their truth. Stands for justice. Both the steps we’ve taken and the steps we need to take. And above all, Pride Month stands for love.”
Transport Secretary Pete Buttigieg, the first openly gay person confirmed to a Cabinet post, joined the president and first lady in the White House’s East Room and also gave remarks.
“Us even being here proves how much change is possible in America,” Buttigieg said. “So many lives have been changed, saved by the sustained advocacy, the moral resolve, the political courage of countless LGBTQ-plus leaders and allies, some elected, some invisible, some long gone, some in this room right now.”
A White House hallway was lit in the colours of the rainbow flag, a symbol of the LGBT movement, and Biden said he takes the hallway each day as he goes between the residence and the Oval Office. Also on display was a candle carried during the Aids vigil and a pair of sandals owned by Matthew Shepard, a gay college student who was fatally beaten in 1998 and whose death inspired new hate crime laws.