DNC Chair Tom Perez, LGBTQ Caucus Chair Earl Fowlkes, Treasurer Bill Derrough, and Secretary Jason Rae released the following joint statement on the start of Pride Month:

“This year’s LGBTQ Pride Month comes at a dark time for our country, and for many members of the LGBTQ community. The murders of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery, and far too many Black Americans. The more than 100,000 Americans — disproportionately Blacks and Latinos — who have lost their lives in the fight against coronavirus. And the more than 40 million Americans whose livelihoods have been ripped away, with record unemployment in the Hispanic community. We are reminded each and every day of the pain faced by people of color in this country.

“This month we will remember all those we have lost to these epidemics. We will mourn and celebrate the lives of those who have left us. We will listen, speak out, protest, and share their stories. Pride is a time not just for celebration, but for reflection and appreciation of those who fought for the rights we enjoy today, and for the work that remains unfinished. 51 years after Stonewall, we will continue the legacy of Marsha P. Johnson, Sylvia Rivera, Stormé DeLarverie, and countless other activists and leaders.

“The rights of our LGBTQ brothers and sisters are under attack — both as members of our community and as people of color, immigrants, poor and working class Americans, and women. The Trump administration has rolled back or moved to roll back protections for LGBTQ students, families, patients, service members, inmates, people experiencing homelessness, and workers. Trump has attacked LGBTQ health care, civil rights, and equal protections under law.

“We need political, moral, and empathetic leadership to begin to heal our wounds and move our country forward. LGBTQ discrimination and racism will not end in one presidency, but the difference between progress and losing even more ground has never been more stark. We need Joe Biden as president to champion LGBTQ rights at home and abroad. We saw what he was capable of as vice president: becoming the highest-ranking U.S. official to call for marriage equality, supporting the repeal of ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell,’ passing the Affordable Care Act with protections against discrimination, championing the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd, Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act, and fighting for LGBTQ protections in the Violence Against Women Act reauthorization. As president, Joe Biden will move our nation closer to the full equality so many have fought and died for.”