Governor Baker, House Speaker DeLeo and Senate President Rosenberg Declare June as LGBT Pride Month

Governor Baker, House Speaker DeLeo and Senate President Rosenberg Declare June as LGBT Pride Month

BOSTON – Today, Governor Charlie Baker, House Speaker Robert DeLeo and Senate President Stan Rosenberg declared June as LGBT Pride Month in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. LGBT Pride Month celebrates the impact and contributions that lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender individuals and their allies have had on Massachusetts’ rich and diverse history and culture.

“Massachusetts is proud to be a welcoming state and a champion for supporting equal rights of all of our citizens across the Commonwealth,” said Governor Baker.“Along with our administration and our colleagues in the legislature, we are pleased to declare June as Pride Month to celebrate the LGBT community and its allies.”

“By commemorating June as LGBT Pride Month, Massachusetts is proud to celebrate the LGBT community who have fought for justice and equality,” said Lt. Governor Polito. “This proclamation represents a statement of unity from our administration and the Legislature as the Commonwealth reflects on the progress made on diversity and civil rights.”

“Pride Month is an invaluable opportunity to recognize the gains we’ve made in ensuring civil rights and to celebrate LGBTQ culture, while reflecting on the work ahead of us,” said House Speaker Robert A. DeLeo (D-Winthrop).  “I thank all involved in Massachusetts Pride Month for their tireless work in the pursuit of justice and solidarity.”

“As a member of the LGBT community I am grateful and proud to live in a state that recognizes and celebrates the diversity of the human family,” said Senate President Stan Rosenberg (D-Amherst). “Nothing is more precious than to live freely and without fear in an accepting community. Thank you to the people of Massachusetts for making that possible for me and countless others.

"From its earliest days as a courageous act of resistance to the revelry that will fill the streets this weekend, Pride honors how very far we've come -- while marking the work left undone,” said Senator Julian Cyr (D – Truro). “Too many LGBTQ people still face fear, isolation, and hardship. Yet many more LGBTQ people are affirmed and thrive thanks to the legacy of 'out' pioneers and allies, like those who led the way right here in Massachusetts. Let Pride Month remind all of us -- LGBTQ or otherwise -- to celebrate resilience, creativity, disruption, freedom, and love."

“It is important that we recognize the great strides we have made in the name of equality for all our citizens, especially among our LGBTQ community,” said Senator Richard Ross (R-Wrentham).

“Pride Month represents an opportunity to both recognize and celebrate the hard-fought rights achieved by LGBT individuals, as well as to remind us there is still more progress to be made in ensuring full equality,” said Representative Kate Hogan (D-Stow). “As our President wavers on recognizing this important tradition, I couldn’t be prouder that Massachusetts has been - and continues to be - a leader nationwide in welcoming and supporting our community.”

“I wish to thank Governor Baker and Lieutenant Governor Polito for this Proclamation declaring June as Pride Month,” said Representative Sarah K. Peake (D-Provincetown). “This reinforces what we know to be true, that Massachusetts celebrates diversity and is made stronger because of it. Now more than ever, this statement is an important affirmation of our shared values. As a member of the LGBT Community, I am personally grateful to the administration for speaking out in support of our community and for using this strong statement as we celebrate Pride Month in Massachusetts.”

"I am proud to join the Baker-Polito Administration and my colleagues in the legislature in declaring June as Pride Month to celebrate the LGBT community. Here in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, we respect and appreciate diversity and the civil rights of all our citizens," said Representative Susannah Whipps (R-Athol).

“We recognize Pride month as both a celebration of resiliency and a call to action, rooted in the legacy of the Stonewall riots and more,” said Massachusetts Commission on LGBTQ Youth Chair Michel Anteby. “As the Commission honors the long history of LGBTQ youth movements in Massachusetts, we are determined to push forward with the unfinished work of building a Commonwealth where all LGBTQ youth thrive.”

In 2004, Massachusetts became the first state in the nation to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples. Last year, Governor Charlie Baker signed into law, An Act relative to transgender anti-discrimination, to extend protections against discrimination for gender identity to any place of public accommodation, with the Massachusetts Commission Against Discrimination (MCAD) adopting regulations or policies to enforce its provisions.