'The Equality Act will also help protect against the disturbing proliferation of anti LGBTQ bills we're seeing the state legislatures,' he said. The act provides 'overdue, explicit civil rights protections' to members of the LGBTQ community. Rachel Levine, the assistant secretary for health in the Department of Health and Human Services who was the first openly transgender federal official to be confirmed by the Senate, was in attendance.īiden, in his remarks, pushed the Senate to pass the Equality Act, according to the White House official. 'May no president ever have to sign another monument like this,' Biden said at the signing, where he was joined by Jill Biden, survivors of the shooting, victims' family members, and members of the Florida Congressional Delegation.Īnd, for the first time on Friday, a hallway on the ground floor of the White House will be lit in rainbow colors when the Bidens welcome LGBTQ+ advocates.ĭr. It was the deadliest incident against LGBTQ people in the United States. In June 2016, 49 people were killed and 53 were wounded during a mass shooting at the gay nightclub in Orlando. The position was left vacant by former President Donald Trump after Berry stepped down.īiden on Friday also signed into law a bill that designates the site of the Pulse Nightclub shooting as the 'National Pulse Memorial.' Her predecessor, Randy Berry, served in the then-new role from its inception in 2015 under former President Barack Obama until 2017. She's the second person to be named to the role. She will be at the White House on Friday for the formal announcement and Pride Month celebrations. Stern specializes in gender, sexuality and human rights globally. Special Envoy to Advance the Human Rights of LGBTQI+ Persons at the Department of State President Biden will appoint Jessica Stern to be the U.S. She is the executive director of OutRight Action International, an organization aimed at ensuring human rights for LGBTQ people both domestically and abroad. diplomacy promotes and protects the human rights of LGBTQI+ persons around the world. Special Envoy to Advance the Human Rights of LGBTQI+ Persons at the Department of State. On Friday, Biden appointed Jessica Stern to be the U.S. So this is a matter of life and death,' Buttigieg said. 'You need to understand that if you go around signaling to people that transgender youth shouldn't exist, transgender youth will hear you. He warned them to be careful of the weight of their words. 'Telling America that transgender people do not exist, amounts to telling very real transgender people that they should not exist.'
'There are consequences when politicians and other leaders, respond to transgender people search for equality and belonging by basically denying that someone can be transgender at all,' he noted. 'There's an especially dangerous political strategy arising in some states right now, and some politicians try to gain advantage by picking on transgender kids, some of the most vulnerable people in this country,' he said.
First lady Jill Biden and Chasten Buttigieg sat together in the front row as the president spokeīuttigieg shared his story of coming out as young man and issued a warning about the treatment of transgender teenagers, a particularly vulnerable group.