At her annual Pride Month celebration, the vice president called out \u201cso-called leaders\u201d who want to take the country on a \u201cbackward march.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Speaking in front of leading LGBTQ advocates, policymakers and celebrities on Wednesday, Vice President Kamala Harris slammed the Republican lawmakers behind the historic wave of anti-LGBTQ state bills introduced across the country over the past several years.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cOne of the strengths of our nation has been in our fight for progress,\u201d Harris said at a Pride event held at her Washington residence and co-hosted by the LGBTQ advocacy group GLAAD. \u201cA measure of progress is the expansion of rights, not the restriction of rights.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
However, she told the crowd, \u201cwhat we\u2019re up against right now\u201d are \u201cso-called leaders, these extremists who are trying to do an abrupt, backward march.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cBut we\u2019re not having it. Not on our watch,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
More than 490 anti-LGBTQ bills have been introduced in state legislatures across the country this year and an estimated 77 have become law, according to a tally by the American Civil Liberties Union<\/a>. Republican lawmakers have successfully passed laws to curtail education on LGBTQ issues, restrict some drag performances and ban transition-related health care for minors, among other provisions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Some of the enacted laws \u2014 including an anti-drag measure in Tennessee<\/a> and an Arkansas<\/a> law that banned transition-related care for the state\u2019s minors \u2014 have been recently declared unconstitutional in court. However, many of the measures signed into law this year remain in place.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Harris took particular aim at Florida\u2019s \u201cDon\u2019t Say Gay\u201d law, which bans the instruction of sexual orientation and gender identity in pre-kindergarten through eighth grade in public and charter schools. An original form of the law banned instruction of sexual orientation and gender identity in kindergarten through third grade before it was expanded<\/a> last month.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cFundamental, foundational principles, which are rooted in freedom and equality, are at stake,\u201d Harris said. \u201cWe are prepared, each of us, because of our love of country, to stand proudly, and with pride, to fight for what we know is right.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n The vice president\u2019s remarks coincide with a surge in threats and attacks of violence targeted at LGBTQ Americans. <\/p>\n\n\n\n There have been more than 350 anti-LGBTQ hate and extremism incidents in the U.S. over an 11-month period starting June 2022, according to a repor<\/a>t released last week by the Anti-Defamation League and GLAAD, which co-hosted the event at the vice president\u2019s home. A report<\/a> released last week by the Institute for Strategic Dialogue, a nonprofit that studies extremism, found that there were more than 200 instances of protests, threats and acts of violence directed at drag events and performers of drag \u2014 which has deep ties to the queer community \u2014 from June 1, 2022, to May 20.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In the face of anti-LGBTQ legislation and threats of violence toward gay and trans Americans, the Biden administration has taken several steps to push back. <\/p>\n\n\n\n During Pride Month last year, President Joe Biden signed<\/a> an executive order that directed federal agencies to expand access to transition-related care and increase LGBTQ inclusivity in American schools. The order also curbed funding for the debunked practice of \u201cconversion therapy.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n Biden also signed legislation<\/a> in December to codify federal protections for same-sex marriages, and his administration has consistently urged Congress to pass the Equality Act, legislation that would federally prohibit discrimination against LGBTQ Americans. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Among the guests at Wednesday\u2019s Pride event was White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre, the first openly gay person to be a presidential spokesperson. In an interview with NBC News, Jean-Pierre acknowledged the LGBTQ community has \u201ccome a long way\u201d in recent years but said, \u201cThere\u2019s still a lot of work to be done.\u201d She then sent a message to transgender young people, who have been particularly affected by the wave of state bills focused on the LGBTQ community. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cYou are exactly who you need to be,\u201d she said. \u201cWe have your back, you are enough, and this is an administration that is going to do everything that we can to fight for you.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cRuPaul\u2019s Drag Race\u201d winner Sasha Colby, who emceed Wednesday\u2019s event, also shared a message of support for transgender youth, saying that her joy and success as a transgender person is \u201cnot just an exception.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cAll the things that I thought that I was maybe even ashamed of or things that I didn\u2019t want people to know, is actually your power,\u201d Colby told NBC News. \u201cIt\u2019s actually the thing that will unlock your courage.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Assistant Health Secretary Dr. Rachel Levine, the country\u2019s most senior transgender official, had a hopeful outlook, telling NBC News that she thinks this Pride Month is \u201can inflection point.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI feel a new spirit this Pride,\u201d she said. \u201cI\u2019m feeling very hopeful, positive and optimistic about the future.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n