Happy Pride Month!

Every year we celebrate Pride Month, a time to commemorate the Stonewall riots that helped ignite the equal rights movement. This is also our chance to celebrate our friends, our family, and our neighbors in the LGBTQ+ community.

A hallmark of my work as Attorney General is that every person who calls North Carolina home should have equal opportunity to succeed — regardless of whom they love, what their gender identity is, or anything else.

At every turn, I have done my best to stand alongside advocates of equality in North Carolina. And I'm proud to have worked against discrimination on the basis of sexuality or gender identity.

But we can’t get complacent. Across the country, state legislatures seem to be racing to pass discriminatory legislation. Our own state Senate recently passed its own version of the “Don’t Say Gay” bill that was enacted in Florida.

We simply cannot sit by while hurtful legislation like this makes its way through legislatures around the country. That’s why Congress needs to pass the Equality Act to update our civil rights laws and prohibit discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity.

We can also amplify and empower LGBTQ+ voices. If you’re interested, consider donating to an organization like Equality North Carolina, an organization on the front lines in the fight for equality in our state. 

We've made great progress here in North Carolina, but we still have a long way to go to put an end to the discrimination many of our friends, family, and neighbors face today.

To my LGBTQ+ friends, neighbors, and colleagues, please know that we stand with you and we will never stop fighting alongside you for equality. 

May this Pride Month be one filled with hope,

Josh