It’s officially Pride Month, folks. And this year, it’s hard to overstate how significant this is for our community. 

LGBTQ+ youth - especially transgender youth - have been under relentless political attacks across the country, including here in NC, for yet another legislative season.

Showing up fully for Pride Month is one of the many ways we can meet the moment and send a clear message that LGBTQ+ equality is up for neither debate nor compromise.

We need to make sure youth are hearing the message that they are loved and supported and that we will never stop fighting for them. This is a time of celebration, of love, and also of mobilization as we prepare for November elections, from school boards to state and federal elections.

I’m proud to be gay and to be raising a family with my wife Meghann, and not a day goes by when we don’t think about what it means to be a LGBTQ+ family in the South.

Here in North Carolina, Republicans in the state legislature - including my opponent Chuck Edwards - passed a cruel “Don’t Say Gay” law that Governor Cooper plans to veto. This bill bans content on LGBTQ+ issues for K-3 students, and mandates that school staff out LGBTQ+ youth to their parents and legal guardians.

Governor Cooper plans to veto this bill, but the fact that elected officials like Chuck Edwards are willing to exploit these issues as a political stunt tells us everything we need to know about what’s at stake in this moment.

Your rights should never depend on your zip code. And you should never be a political target because of who you are.

If we’re going to make sure our rights are protected across the country, we need federal action. And to do that, we must defend and expand our Democratic House majority.

That’s why I’m running for Congress in the first place – to pave a new path forward for Western North Carolina where equality and justice endure.

Where LGBTQ+ youth are loved and supported at home and at school.

Where LGBTQ+ workers cannot be fired for who they love.

Where LGBTQ+ renters cannot be denied housing for who they are.

The LGBTQ+ community – especially our youth – deserve to feel safe and to be fully equal under the law always, and I won’t rest until I’ve done everything I can to make sure they are.

If you’re with me, will you chip in $5 or more today to make me the first openly LGBTQ+ Congressperson from the South?

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Happy Pride Month, folks. 

– Jasmine