Connect with us

Education

At Pride Event, Biden Vows to Protect Rights of L.G.B.T.Q. Americans

Published

on

At Pride Event, Biden Vows to Protect Rights of L.G.B.T.Q. Americans

Standing on a stage decorated with rainbows and speaking to a crowd that included survivors of gay nightclub shootings and transgender rights advocates, President Biden on Saturday said his administration would work to counter a recent series of Republican-led bills and laws targeting the L.G.B.T.Q. community.

“We’re taking on these civil rights violations,” Mr. Biden said at a Pride Month event held at the White House on Saturday afternoon, “because that’s what they are.”

At the Pride event — which had been postponed earlier in the week because of smoke from the wildfires in Canada — the president said that his administration had taken steps to protect the civil rights of L.G.B.T.Q. Americans, including appointing an official within the Department of Education who will monitor and address the growing number of local bans on books with references to lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer people.

Neera Tanden, the White House domestic policy adviser, told CBS News that the official would provide guidance to school districts and warn them that book bans “may violate federal civil laws if they create a hostile environment for students.”

According to a fact sheet released by the Biden administration, the Justice Department and other agencies will also designate officials to work with members of the L.G.B.T.Q. community on issues of concern. Federal funds will be dedicated for support programs for the parents of L.G.B.T.Q. youth, police training on helping victims of hate crimes and security briefings for health care providers and activist organizations.

Advertisement

Since 2021, at least 20 Republican-led states have passed bills regulating the lives and medical care of young transgender people. Conservative activists and parents have led efforts to ban books about L.G.B.T.Q. people and have protested outside of events where drag queens read to children.

“This year’s Pride is caught between the push and pull of progress,” Jill Biden, the first lady, said during her own set of remarks, referencing the slate of conservative bills and laws. “Outside the gates of this house are those who want to drag our country backwards.”

Mr. Biden also assailed laws that have allowed business owners to discriminate against L.G.B.T.Q. people based on their religious or personal beliefs.

“When a person can be married in the morning and thrown out of a restaurant for being gay in the afternoon, something is still very wrong in America,” Mr. Biden said.

Mr. Biden called on Congress to pass the Equality Act, which would strengthen protections against discrimination for L.G.B.T.Q. Americans. The president also repeated his plea for Congress to pass an assault weapons ban, citing past mass shootings at the nightclubs Club Q and Pulse.

Advertisement

Both efforts have little to no chance of passing in a divided Congress.

Several Republican presidential candidates, including former President Donald J. Trump and Gov. Ron DeSantis of Florida, have supported broad restrictions on gender-affirming care for transgender people and on L.G.B.T.Q. matters in education and public life. They have framed the measures as efforts to protect children and defend against liberal views in America’s culture wars. A majority of Americans support same-sex marriage, but the public has more complicated views on transgender rights, according to polling compiled by the Pew Research Center.

“This year’s Pride is caught between the push and pull of progress,” said Jill Biden, the first lady.Credit…Pete Marovich for The New York Times

Mr. Biden and his advisers have argued that the rights of transgender people and others in the L.G.B.T.Q. community should not be used as grist for culture-war battles, an argument the president emphasized at length on Saturday.

“These bills and laws attack the most basic values and freedoms we have as Americans,” Mr. Biden said. “The right to be yourself. The right to make your own health decisions. The right to raise your children.

“I recognize, for a lot of folks across this country, maybe it’s not you, your kid, your family members going through whatever a transgender child and family is going through. But I think we all agree: If it were you, you’d want the space to figure it out with your family and your doctor.”

Advertisement

As vice president, Mr. Biden became a public supporter of same-sex marriage before President Barack Obama had processed his “evolving” views on the matter.

“I am absolutely comfortable with the fact that men marrying men, women marrying women and heterosexual men and women marrying one another are entitled to the same exact rights, all the civil rights, all the civil liberties,” Mr. Biden said in May 2012. Mr. Obama soon said that he supported same-sex marriage.

Eleven years later, same-sex marriage is the law of the land, and Mr. Biden is president.

“This administration has your back,” he said to applause on Saturday.

People who gathered at the White House offered a gesture of support for the president and his efforts: “Four more years,” they chanted.

Advertisement

“You enrich every part of American life,” Mr. Biden told the crowd. “You are some of the bravest most inspiring people I’ve ever known, and I’ve known a lot of good folks.”

Continue Reading
Advertisement
Click to comment

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Education

Four Fraternity Members Charged After a Pledge Is Set on Fire

Published

on

Four Fraternity Members Charged After a Pledge Is Set on Fire

Four fraternity members at San Diego State University are facing felony charges after a pledge was set on fire during a skit at a party last year, leaving him hospitalized for weeks with third-degree burns, prosecutors said Monday.

The fire happened on Feb. 17, 2024, when the Phi Kappa Psi fraternity held a large party at its house, despite being on probation, court documents show. While under probation, the fraternity was required to “demonstrate exemplary compliance with university policies,” according to the college’s guidelines.

Instead, prosecutors said, the fraternity members planned a skit during which a pledge would be set on fire.

After drinking alcohol in the presence of the fraternity president, Caden Cooper, 22, the three younger men — Christopher Serrano, 20, and Lars Larsen, 19, both pledges, and Lucas Cowling, 20 — then performed the skit, prosecutors said.

Mr. Larsen was set on fire and wounded, prosecutors said, forcing him to spend weeks in the hospital for treatment of third-degree burns covering 16 percent of his body, mostly on his legs.

Advertisement

The charges against Mr. Cooper, Mr. Cowling and Mr. Serrano include recklessly causing a fire with great bodily injury; conspiracy to commit an act injurious to the public; and violating the social host ordinance. If convicted of all the charges, they would face a sentence of probation up to seven years, two months in prison.

Mr. Larsen himself was charged. The San Diego County District Attorney’s office said that he, as well as Mr. Cooper and Mr. Cowling, also tried to lie to investigators in the case, deleted evidence on social media, and told other fraternity members to destroy evidence and not speak to anyone about what happened at the party.

All four men have pleaded not guilty.

Lawyers representing Mr. Cooper and Mr. Cowling did not immediately respond to messages requesting comment on Tuesday. Contact information for lawyers for Mr. Serrano and Mr. Larsen was not immediately available.

The four students were released on Monday, but the court ordered them not to participate in any fraternity parties, not to participate in any recruitment events for the fraternity, and to obey all laws, including those related to alcohol consumption.

Advertisement

The university said Tuesday that it would begin its own administrative investigation into the conduct of the students and the fraternity, now that the police investigation was complete.

After it confirmed the details, the dean of students office immediately put the Phi Kappa Psi chapter on interim suspension, which remains in effect, college officials confirmed on Tuesday.

Additional action was taken, but the office said it could not reveal specifics because of student privacy laws.

“The university prioritizes the health and safety of our campus community,” college officials said in a statement, “and has high expectations for how all members of the university community, including students, behave in the interest of individual and community safety and well-being.”

At least half a dozen fraternities at San Diego State University have been put on probation in the last two years, officials said.

Advertisement
Continue Reading

Education

Video: Several Killed in Wisconsin School Shooting, Including Juvenile Suspect

Published

on

Video: Several Killed in Wisconsin School Shooting, Including Juvenile Suspect

new video loaded: Several Killed in Wisconsin School Shooting, Including Juvenile Suspect

transcript

transcript

Several Killed in Wisconsin School Shooting, Including Juvenile Suspect

The police responded to a shooting at a private Christian school in Madison, Wis., on Monday.

Around 10:57 a.m., our officers were responding to a call of an active shooter at the Abundant Life Christian School here in Madison. When officers arrived, they found multiple victims suffering from gunshot wounds. Officers located a juvenile who they believe was responsible for this deceased in the building. I’m feeling a little dismayed now, so close to Christmas. Every child, every person in that building is a victim and will be a victim forever. These types of trauma don’t just go away.

Advertisement

Recent episodes in Guns & Gun Violence

Continue Reading

Education

Video: Biden Apologizes for U.S. Mistreatment of Native American Children

Published

on

Video: Biden Apologizes for U.S. Mistreatment of Native American Children

new video loaded: Biden Apologizes for U.S. Mistreatment of Native American Children

transcript

transcript

Biden Apologizes for U.S. Mistreatment of Native American Children

President Biden offered a formal apology on Friday on behalf of the U.S. government for the abuse of Native American children from the early 1800s to the late 1960s.

The Federal government has never, never formally apologized for what happened until today. I formally apologize. It’s long, long, long overdue. Quite frankly, there’s no excuse that this apology took 50 years to make. I know no apology can or will make up for what was lost during the darkness of the federal boarding school policy. But today, we’re finally moving forward into the light.

Advertisement

Recent episodes in Politics

Continue Reading

Trending