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'Pride is back at the White House': Biden honors LGBTQ month with Jill, Pete Buttigieg and his husband Chasten after designating the Pulse nightclub a national memorial

President Joe Biden declared on Friday that pride had returned to the White House as he marked the month that celebrates LGBTQ+ rights.

'Pride is back at the White House,' he said. 'Pride Month stands for love, you know, being able to love yourself, love whomever you love.'

Biden marked the occasion by designating the site of the Pulse Nightclub shooting a national memorial and named a special envoy for LGBTQ+ rights around the world. 

Biden was joined by Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, the first openly gay Senate-confirmed Cabinet secretary. Jill Biden and Chasten Buttigieg also were on hand.

The president was introduced by Ashton Mota, an openly transgender teenager from Massachusetts. 

'It takes courage to be true to your authentic self and face the face of the kinds of discrimination,' Biden said of transgender youth.   

'We know more than half of transgender youth to seriously consider suicide,' he said, encouraging people to support them. 

President Joe Biden and LGBTQ advocate Ashton Mota of the GenderCool Project walk into the rainbow-lit hallway of the White House

President Joe Biden and LGBTQ advocate Ashton Mota of the GenderCool Project walk into the rainbow-lit hallway of the White House

Ashton Mota, an openly transgender youth, hugs President Biden

Ashton Mota, an openly transgender youth, hugs President Biden

President Biden and Jill Biden at the Pride Month celebration in East Room of White House

President Biden and Jill Biden at the Pride Month celebration in East Room of White House

Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg shared his story of coming out as a young man

Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg shared his story of coming out as a young man

First lady Jill Biden and Chasten Buttigieg sat together in the front row as the president spoke

First lady Jill Biden and Chasten Buttigieg sat together in the front row as the president spoke

Buttigieg shared his story of coming out as young man and issued a warning about the treatment of transgender teenagers, a particularly vulnerable group.

'There's an especially dangerous political strategy arising in some states right now, and some politicians try to gain advantage by picking on transgender kids, some of the most vulnerable people in this country,' he said.

'There are consequences when politicians and other leaders, respond to transgender people search for equality and belonging by basically denying that someone can be transgender at all,' he noted. 'Telling America that transgender people do not exist, amounts to telling very real transgender people that they should not exist.' 

He warned them to be careful of the weight of their words. 

'You need to understand that if you go around signaling to people that transgender youth shouldn't exist, transgender youth will hear you. And some of them will believe you. So this is a matter of life and death,' Buttigieg said. 

On Friday, Biden appointed Jessica Stern to be the U.S. Special Envoy to Advance the Human Rights of LGBTQI+ Persons at the Department of State.

Stern will focus on making sure U.S. diplomacy promotes and protects the human rights of LGBTQI+ persons around the world. She is the executive director of OutRight Action International, an organization aimed at ensuring human rights for LGBTQ people both domestically and abroad.

President Biden will appoint Jessica Stern to be the U.S. Special Envoy to Advance the Human Rights of LGBTQI+ Persons at the Department of State

President Biden will appoint Jessica Stern to be the U.S. Special Envoy to Advance the Human Rights of LGBTQI+ Persons at the Department of State

Stern specializes in gender, sexuality and human rights globally. She will be at the White House on Friday for the formal announcement and Pride Month celebrations.

She's the second person to be named to the role. Her predecessor, Randy Berry, served in the then-new role from its inception in 2015 under former President Barack Obama until 2017. The position was left vacant by former President Donald Trump after Berry stepped down.

Biden on Friday also signed into law a bill that designates the site of the Pulse Nightclub shooting as the 'National Pulse Memorial.'

In June 2016, 49 people were killed and 53 were wounded during a mass shooting at the gay nightclub in Orlando. It was the deadliest incident against LGBTQ people in the United States. 

'May no president ever have to sign another monument like this,' Biden said at the signing, where he was joined by Jill Biden, survivors of the shooting, victims' family members, and members of the Florida Congressional Delegation.

And, for the first time on Friday, a hallway on the ground floor of the White House will be lit in rainbow colors when the Bidens welcome LGBTQ+ advocates.

Dr. Rachel Levine, the assistant secretary for health in the Department of Health and Human Services who was the first openly transgender federal official to be confirmed by the Senate, was in attendance. 

President Joe Biden at a signing of the National Pulse Memorial bill into law

President Joe Biden at a signing of the National Pulse Memorial bill into law

President Biden, joined by first lady Jill Biden, passes out pens after the signed the legislation

President Biden, joined by first lady Jill Biden, passes out pens after the signed the legislation

President Biden designated the site of the Pulse Nightclub shooting as the 'National Pulse Memorial'

President Biden designated the site of the Pulse Nightclub shooting as the 'National Pulse Memorial'

For the first time on Friday, a hallway on the ground floor of the White House will be lit in rainbow colors as part of Pride Month celebrations - above a Pride Walk in Washington DC on June 12

For the first time on Friday, a hallway on the ground floor of the White House will be lit in rainbow colors as part of Pride Month celebrations - above a Pride Walk in Washington DC on June 12

Biden, in his remarks, pushed the Senate to pass the Equality Act, according to the White House official. The act provides 'overdue, explicit civil rights protections' to members of the LGBTQ community. It has already passed the House. 

'The Equality Act will also help protect against the disturbing proliferation of anti LGBTQ bills we're seeing the state legislatures,' he said. 

This year is on track to be the worst year for anti-LGBTQ legislation in recent history, according to the Human Rights Campaign, as eight anti-LGBTQ bills have already been signed into law and another ten are already on governors' desks awaiting signature.

Biden has championed LGBTQ rights from the start of his presidency - signing an executive order on his first day in office to combat discrimination and rescinding the ban on openly transgender servicemembers from serving in the military.  

The White House has noted 14 percent of all presidential appointees in the Biden administration identified as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender or queer. 

Biden started off June, known as Pride Month, with a proclamation to mark the occasion while his State Department declared the rainbow-colored Pride Flag could fly on the same pole as the American Flag at US outposts around the world.

The moves signal Biden's attempt to contrast himself with Trump, who ignored the month and, under his presidency, embassies couldn't fly the Pride flag.  

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