Unlike predecessor Donald Trump, President Biden has urged Congress to protect LGBTQ people from discrimination by passing the Equality Act….reports Asian Lite News
In a proclamation marking the start of Pride Month celebrating the LGBTQ community, President Joe Biden on Tuesday said that nearly 14% of his 1,500 federal agency appointees identified as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer, according to media reports.
Unlike predecessor Donald Trump, who never officially recognised Pride Month during his four years in office, President Biden has urged Congress to protect LGBTQ people from discrimination by passing the Equality Act.
“For all of our progress, there are many States in which LGBTQ+ individuals still lack protections for fundamental rights and dignity in hospitals, schools, public accommodations, and other spaces,” reports quoted Biden as saying.
He said “we will not rest until full equality for LGBTQ+ Americans is finally achieved and codified into law.”
Biden also recognised the service of Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, the first openly LGBTQ person to serve in the Cabinet, and Assistant Health Secretary Rachel Levine, the first openly transgender person confirmed by the Senate, according to reports.
Meanwhile, the President on Tuesday announced a series of measures aimed at narrowing the wealth gap among racial groups in a speech commemorating the 100th anniversary of Tulsa massacre, one of the most atrocious racial violence in US history.
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Biden detailed a raft of policies intended to bolster homeownership and help minority-owned small businesses and entrepreneurs.
The measures include using federal purchasing power to invest more money into minority-owned businesses and allocate $10 billion in infrastructure funds to rebuild disadvantaged neighbourhoods across the country.
The first President to come to Tulsa and commemorate the massacre, Biden also plans to enhance the Fair Housing Act in ways that the Department of Housing and Urban Development will “more vigorously enforce” the law, according to a senior administration official, who added that the goal is to increase Black homeownership.
Missing in the Biden initiative, however, was a plan to cancel student debt, which disproportionately affects Black students. The rollout also failed to address the issue of reparations for relatives of massacre victims, who said the federal payments could restore what was erased during the attacks.
Biden in his speech also announced that Vice President Kamala Harris will lead the administration’s efforts on protecting Americans’ voting rights. The White House has accused the restrictive voting laws recently enacted in several Republican-leaning states of making it harder for Americans to cast their ballots.
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