Vice President Kamala Harris made a surprise appearance at a national monument recognizing the LGBTQ+ community on June 26, 2023.
Harris riled up a crowd at Stonewall Inn accompanied by Andy Cohen, host and executive producer for Bravo’s Real Housewives franchise. The vice president said she would not give up fighting for the LGBTQ+ community regarding legislation matters.
“We are all in this together. We are fighting for the ideals of our country,” she said, according to
The New York Times.Harris also said, according to HuffPost, “I look at these young teachers in Florida [who] are in their 20s, and if they’re in the same-sex relationship, are afraid they might lose their jobs.” Harris added that legislation like Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’ “Don’t Say Gay” bill requires the LGBTQ+ community and its allies “to stay vigilant.”
The vice president said, “We can take nothing for granted in terms of the progress we achieved.”
Harris and President Joe Biden announced their administration’s new protections for the LGBTQ+ community in a White House briefing on June 8, 2023. The release focused on protecting three key areas: LGBTQ+ safety, LGBTQ+ children, and literature about the LGBTQ+ community.
One action from the White House included the LGBTQI+ Community Safety Partnership to combat the rise of violence against the LGBTQ+ community and its allies. The
U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) found that hate groups and domestic violence extremists threaten the safety of the LGBTQ+ community and its allies.According to the briefing, the partnership will “provide dedicated safety training for LGBTQI+ community organizations and increase federal threat briefings for LGBTQI+ organizations.”
Stonewall Inn became a national monument in 2016 by then-President Barack Obama. The monument recognizes the 1969 Stonewall riots and the LGBTQ+ community’s fight for equality in America.
“We’re not going to be silenced,” Harris said during her Stonewall visit, according to HuffPo. “We’re not going to be deterred. We are not going to tire. We’re not going to throw up our hands; we’re going to roll up our sleeves. That’s to me what Stonewall means—strength in numbers.”