Friends, happy Pride!

This month, we celebrate all of the progress we have made towards a more open, loving and accepting community for our LGBTQ+ friends and family, and recommit ourselves towards achieving full equality for everyone, regardless of how you identify or who you love.

We really have achieved so much progress in such a short amount of time: marriage equality, the adoption of children by same-sex couples, the ability to serve in the military, and welcoming members of the gay and transgender communities into our faith services.

But we must acknowledge that fifty-two years after the Stonewall riots in New York lit the spark, our LGBTQ+ community still faces discrimination, bigotry and hate.

Violence against members of the trans community is at an all time high. Governors in states like Florida are banning transgender participation in sports. LGBTQ+ teenagers are also more likely to be displaced, homeless, and at risk. And people can still be fired from their job or refused service simply because of their gender identity or sexual orientation.

As Martin Luther King Jr. said, "Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere."

My colleagues and I in the House already passed the Equality Act to enshrine anti-discrimination protections for the LGBTQ+ community into law, and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer has promised it will be taken up for a vote.

Now we need your help: Will you sign this petition to demand the Senate pass the Equality Act and send it to President Biden’s desk for his signature?

Together, we celebrate Pride, knowing full equality will take all of our collective efforts.

In solidarity,
Stacey Plaskett