Joe Biden just threw the biggest White House Pride party in history

Joe Biden’s White House Pride celebration may have been delayed due to the dangerous smoke from Canada’s wildfires that engulfed the East Coast, but on Saturday, the President more than made up for it.

Biden threw the biggest White House Pride party in history, a party so big everyone couldn’t fit inside the building.

Related:

President Joe Biden proclaims June Pride Month & calls Stonewall rioters “courageous”

Biden said that the LGBTQ+ movement “has grown stronger, more vibrant, and more inclusive with every passing year.”

Held on the South Lawn, Biden turned it up with a Betty Who concert, a children’s play area, drinks, food, and an adoring crowd of hundreds of LGBTQ+ people from all over the country.

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“So today, I want to send a message to the entire community — especially to transgender children: You are loved. You are heard. You’re understood. And you belong,” Biden told the hundreds of guests.

The Human Rights Campaign declared a national emergency for LGBTQ+ people earlier this month. Over 75 anti-LGBTQ+ bills have been signed into law this year, doubling 2022’s number. These laws have included bans on drag performances, trans bathroom use, trans athletes on school sports teams, LGBTQ+ content in schools, and gender-affirming care for trans youth. Over 600 laws have been proposed at the state and federal levels that target the LGBTQ+ community.

“Homophobic and transphobic vitriol spewed online has spilled over into real life, as armed hate groups intimidate people at Pride marches and drag performances, and threaten doctors’ offices and children’s hospitals that offer care to the LGBTQI+ community.  Our hearts are heavy with grief for the loved ones we have lost to anti-LGBTQI+ violence,” Biden’s Pride Month proclamation noted.

“My entire Administration stands proudly with the LGBTQI+ community in the enduring struggle for freedom, justice, and equality.”

The Biden administration has a three-point plan to protect the LGBTQ+ community from violence, school book bans, and poor mental health outcomes for queer youth (especially those who are homeless or in the foster care system).

Last week, the President spoke directly to the LGBTQ+ community during a press conference with British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak.

“You’re loved, you’re heard, and this administration has your back, and I mean it. We are not relenting one single second to make sure that they’re protected.”