Dear Friends,

Fifty-three years ago, Stonewall Inn, a gay club in New York City, was the subject of a police raid: a pattern of explicit prejudice and bigotry targeting the LGBTQ+ community. The subsequent riots are considered the catalyst of the United States’ gay rights movement. For that reason, we celebrate June as Pride Month. Pride in the joy and diversity found in the LGBTQ+ community, and pride in the progress we have made against fear, against violence, and against the silence that too often greets bigotry.

However, the past fifty years of advancement and hard-fought wins for the rights of LGBTQ+ individuals are under attack. Most recently, Justice Thomas’ concurrence for Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization calls for Obergefell v. Hodges – the ruling that made same-sex marriage legal in all fifty states – to be reconsidered. This blatant attack on civil liberties is emblematic of how many Americans' rights are constantly under attack. Our fight to protect these freedoms is not over.

Last year, the House of Representatives passed the Equality Act with my full support. This legislation guarantees LGBTQ+ Americans full protections of federal civil rights laws. The Equality Act is still awaiting consideration by the Senate, and I continue to urge my colleagues in the upper chamber to do the right thing and take up this long-overdue measure.

I believe every American deserves the right to love who they want and to express their gender identity as they choose. This month, as we remember the anniversary of the Stonewall Uprising, I want to assure you that I will not stop fighting to make sure that every American is free to live without hate.

Sincerely,

Jim