by Jamil Ragland CTNewsJunkie
HARTFORD, CT — State leaders kicked off Pride Month at the State Capitol Monday morning with promises to keep Connecticut welcoming for all people, and to fight back against any potential anti-LGBTQ+ efforts.
“Across the country, and especially under the current federal administration, our rights are under attack,” said Rep. Raghib Allie-Brennan, D-Bethel, co-chair of the House LGBTQ Caucus. “Whether it’s targeting trans youth, censoring inclusive curriculum, or chipping away at basic freedoms, the message is clear. We are being told we don’t belong. But here in Connecticut, we choose to send a different message — one of love, dignity, and action.”
Lieutenant Gov. Susan Bysiewicz highlighted Connecticut’s role as a national leader in LGBTQ+ rights, from codifying marriage equality and protecting access to gender affirming care to a recent bill which prohibits discrimination against LGBTQ+ people in long term care.
“I hope what people will take from this celebration today is the very important message to our LGBTQ+ community — we see you, we respect you and we are not going to stop fighting for you here in this beautiful State Capitol building,” she said.
Attorney General William Tong said while he’s proud of the progress Connecticut has made over the last 20 years in providing equal protection for LGBTQ+ people in the state, the Trump administration has put targets on their backs, referring to the Department of Education’s Office of Civil Rights investigation into Cromwell Public Schools for allowing a transgender athlete to compete.
“We’re taking very seriously the attacks by the Department of Education on cities and towns here in Connecticut, including Cromwell,” he said. “So I just want to make it clear, the office of the Attorney General is very focused on it. We will do everything we can to be helpful to Cromwell and the residents at Cromwell.”
Comptroller Sean Scanlon shared a story where he lamented that people are still fighting for what his generation had considered “settled issues” such as women’s rights and marriage equality.
“Today, I just want to say, very clearly, a message to the people of Connecticut. No matter who you are, where you’re from, who you love, you are welcome here and you will always be welcome here,” he said “And at a time when that is a question mark in places around this country, it will never be a question mark here in Connecticut as long as we have anything to do with it.”
For many people at the gathering, the drive to protect LGBTQ rights is personal. Beth Bye, commissioner of the Office of Early Childhood, looked back at how much things had changed for her.
“It was a little more than 20 years ago when I was directing a child care program and a lawyer informed me that my job was not safe if I married the woman I loved,” she said. “And this governor then appointed me to be the head of early childhood for the state of Connecticut. That’s progress, and that takes laws like the nursing home bill passed this year.”
Rep. Dominique Johnson, D-Norwalk, called on LGBTQ+ people to celebrate themselves this month, despite the challenges they face.
“Gather the strength from pride, the joy and being who you are, just the way you are and how that is a gift to the world,” she said.