HRC issues proclamation urging resistance against erosion of LGBTQ rights
Proclamation kicks off "Summer of Action" aimed at opposing the Trump administration's anti-LGBTQ actions
To coincide with the recognition of June as LGBTQ Pride Month, the Human Rights Campaign has issued a proclamation urging its followers to take action to resist what they see as the erosion of LGBTQ rights under President Trump.
The proclamation takes inspiration from the multitude of federal and local government officials who have typically issued statements recognizing June as LGBTQ Pride Month. Former President Obama issued such proclamations in June of each year when he was in office, as did former President Bill Clinton. However, so far, Trump has not released any statement recognizing the celebration of Pride Month, which commemorates the growth of the LGBTQ rights movement following the Stonewall Riots in New York in 1969.
“Since Donald Trump couldn’t be bothered to issue a proclamation for Pride Month, we issued our own proclamation letting Trump know that we will not quietly standby as he continuously seeks to undermine LGBTQ rights,” Aaron Rodriguez, a spokesman for HRC, said in a statement. “June represents a very special month for the LGBTQ community as we celebrate Pride, and especially as we approach the one year anniversary of the Pulse nightclub shooting and pay tribute to the 49 mostly LGBTQ and Latinx lives lost.
“This month, we will take the time to celebrate our beautiful community but we will also engage in active resistance against the Trump Administration’s hostile actions against LGBTQ people,” Rodriguez added. “From advocacy training to voter registration, HRC will be engaging equality voters at events all over the country during #UniteResistEnlist Month.”
HRC previously announced last week that it was launching a nationwide “summer of action” in which the organization would hold more than 250 grassroots events in 46 states, Puerto Rico, and the District of Columbia, aimed at resisting attempts by the Trump administration to reverse gains made by the LGBTQ community.
As part of those efforts, HRC seeks to register thousands of new voters, host advocacy trainings, and step up outreach efforts at LGBTQ Pride parades, marches, local festivals and other events, beginning with the National Equality March in Washington, D.C., and the #ResistMarch in Los Angeles, both of which take place on June 11.
The text of HRC’s proclamation reads as follows:
“WHEREAS, the month of June has long been observed as Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and Queer (LGBTQ) Pride month in recognition of the 1969 Stonewall Riots with Pride celebrations being held across the nation in cities large and small; and
WHEREAS, in recent years, the LGBTQ community has seen extraordinary progress through landmark Supreme Court decisions, historic legislation passed at the federal, state, and local levels, and the support of pro-LGBTQ policies by public officials at all levels of government; and
WHEREAS, Donald Trump has launched a crusade against LGBTQ rights and progress by appointing anti-LGBTQ activists across his Administration, rescinding guidance regarding schools’ obligations to transgender students, pushing an unconstitutional Muslim ban and draconian deportation policies, inviting his cabinet to create a #LicenseToDiscriminate, proposing dangerous cuts to critical health care programs and research, and erasing LGBTQ people in federal data collection; and
WHEREAS, the Human Rights Campaign (HRC), the nation’s largest lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) civil rights organization, has mobilized thousands of supporters for protests outside the White House to #ProtectTransKids and joined grassroots rallies across the nation — including the Women’s March and Save Our Care events; and
WHEREAS, since Inauguration Day, HRC members have logged hundreds of thousands of calls, emails and meetings with members of Congress to rally for the Affordable Care Act, to fight Trump’s nomination of anti-LGBTQ Supreme Court nominee Neil Gorsuch and other appointees, and to lobby for the Equality Act; and
WHEREAS, HRC has committed to empower and mobilize millions of equality voters to fight back against attacks that undermine the LGBTQ community through a nationwide Summer of Action anchored by more than 250 grassroots events from coast to coast including the National Equality March in Washington, D.C. and the #ResistMarch in Los Angeles; and
WHEREAS, HRC has also joined a broad coalition of progressive organizations in Equality Florida’s #HonorThemWithAction campaign to pay tribute to the 49 people — most of them LGBTQ and/or Latinx — whose lives were taken at the Pulse nightclub shooting in Orlando, and is supporting related community events; and
WHEREAS, throughout the Summer of Action, HRC will support voter registration efforts, host grassroots advocacy trainings, and step up visibility and outreach at LGBTQ Pride parades, equality marches, festivals and other events across the country and through an Action Center at Washington, D.C., headquarters, where volunteers and visitors will be able to engage in direct action, including advocacy training, writing letters to elected officials, and unique social media opportunities;
NOW, THEREFORE, THE HUMAN RIGHTS CAMPAIGN, does hereby proclaim June 2017 to be: #UniteResistEnlist Month.”
Support Metro Weekly’s Journalism
These are challenging times for news organizations. And yet it’s crucial we stay active and provide vital resources and information to both our local readers and the world. So won’t you please take a moment and consider supporting Metro Weekly with a membership? For as little as $5 a month, you can help ensure Metro Weekly magazine and MetroWeekly.com remain free, viable resources as we provide the best, most diverse, culturally-resonant LGBTQ coverage in both the D.C. region and around the world. Memberships come with exclusive perks and discounts, your own personal digital delivery of each week’s magazine (and an archive), access to our Member's Lounge when it launches this fall, and exclusive members-only items like Metro Weekly Membership Mugs and Tote Bags! Check out all our membership levels here and please join us today!
