As we Celebrate LGBT Pride Month, Action on Equality Must Continue
Milwaukee, WI,
June 9, 2017
Only months into his first term, the president has withdrawn civil protections and rights for over 1.4 million transgender Americans, erased LGBT identifications from data collection, and appointed several outspoken anti-LGBT personnel to key positions to his administration.
Milwaukee, Wisconsin – In recognition of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender (LGBT) Pride Month, Congresswoman Gwen Moore (WI-04) released the following statement: “As a proud member of the Congressional LGBT Equality Caucus, I recognize the great strides we’ve made during the Obama Administration in securing equality for all Americans, regardless of sexual orientation or gender identity. Yet, as President Donald Trump has demonstrated during his short tenure, such progress is fragile and susceptible to attack, underscoring the need for us to remain vigilant and visible. “President Trump has made no illusions regarding his indifference to our shared struggle for LGBT equality. Only months into his first term, the president has withdrawn civil protections and rights for over 1.4 million transgender Americans, erased LGBT identifications from data collection, and appointed several outspoken anti-LGBT personnel to key positions to his administration. And just this week, rather than acknowledging LGBT Pride Month, President Trump decided to address anti-LGBT leaders at the conservative Road to Majority conference. “I refuse to sit on the sidelines as the president and his party wage their ideological war on the LGBT community. Earlier this year, I co-sponsored numerous legislative efforts aimed at establishing new protections for sexuality and gender identity, including the Voices for Veterans Act, a bill that would expand the membership of the Advisory Committee on Minority Veterans to include LGBT veterans. Knowing that our fight for equality must extend beyond our own borders, I recently joined 50 of my congressional colleagues in calling on Secretary of State Rex Tillerson to condemn the detention, torture, and murders of gay and bisexual men in Chechnya. “Lawmakers on both sides of the aisle must come together to fight prejudice and discrimination locally, nationally, and globally. Let us use LGBT Pride Month as a call to action to every American to acknowledge our own freedoms and recognize that when everyone is treated as equal, only then can we truly be free.” ### |
