Vice President Kamala Harris on Monday paid a surprise visit to the Stonewall Inn, the gay bar in Manhattan where a 1969 riot is considered a turning point in the LGBTQ+ rights movement.
Harris addressed the crowd gathered at the bar National Monument statusalongside Bravo host and executive producer Andy Cohen.
“We will not be silenced,” Harris said during the Pride Month visit. “We will not be deterred. We don’t get tired. We won’t throw up our hands; We’ll roll up our sleeves. This is what Stonewall means to me: strength in numbers.”
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Much of Harris’ comments focused on the wave of anti-LGBTQ+ bills being proposed and passed in state legislatures. That’s according to a March report More than 650 such bills have been proposedwith many trying to ban LGBTQ+ people from schools and public life, criminalize transgender healthcare and silence allies.
“I’m looking at these young teachers in Florida [who] are in their 20s and are afraid of losing their jobs if they are in a same-sex relationship,” Harris said.
In March, despite nationwide outrage, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) signed into law a law called “Don’t Say Gay”. The law largely bans discussion of sexual orientation and gender identity in most elementary school classes and allows parents to sue school districts to enforce it.
Such legislation “reminds me that we cannot take anything for granted in terms of the progress that has been made,” Harris said. “We must be vigilant.”
The Department of Homeland Security also confirmed in a briefing last month that there have been threats of violence against members of the LGBTQ+ community ascending.
“These issues include actions related to drag events, gender-responsive mentoring and LGBTQIA+ curricula in schools,” the DHS said in a statement.
The Stonewall Inn has faced at least three incidents of vandalism this month, with dozens of Pride flags torn down in a recent attack on the historic site.
