Democrats are trying to reassure the LGBTQ community of their support

Vice President Kamala Harris visited the Stonewall Inn Monday — the site of the 1969 riot that has been credited with sparking the modern LGBTQ rights movement — to express her support for the community, lament the threats she faces, and take selfies dealing with the gathered drinkers on the day after the city’s Pride march.

“Gay Pride was yesterday so I’m like blerrgggh,” Kurt Kelly, a co-owner of the bar, told the vice president, waving his hand next to his head.

“I see,” Mrs. Harris said sympathetically. She was accompanied on her visit by television host Andy Cohen. “The morning after,” the vice president added.

While patrons of the bar held up phone cameras and cheered on Ms. Harris, Mr. Cohen asked her the only question allowed during the visit: “Tell us something so we can be optimistic about this Pride season.”

Ms. Harris responded that the Biden administration would support the LGBTQ community as it faces an increasingly hostile political landscape. But she did not say what that support might look like and did not announce any policy initiatives or proposals during her visit to arguably the most famous gay bar in the world.

“We are all in this together. We fight for the ideals of our country,” she said. “We believe in the promise of equality and freedom and we fight with pride, understanding what is at stake. I mean, I look to where we are in our country, but we are also clear about this moment.

As Pride Month draws to a close, democratically elected officials have sought to reassure LGBTQ people of their support, making both concrete and symbolic gestures, even as threats against the community multiply on both the local and national levels.

Those threats have taken many forms, from shootings and threats of violence at LGBTQ events to new laws enacted in several Republican-led states banning drag performances, class discussions of LGBTQ topics, or transgender health care.

New York is a leading center of gay culture, and elected officials there have responded in recent months to the deteriorating political climate for LGBTQ rights in other states with a slew of measures.

On Sunday, Governor Kathy Hochul of New York signed legislation to make the state a “safe haven” for transgender people and their families, including those who come here from abroad. The measure prohibits state law enforcement from cooperating with foreign agencies seeking information about transgender health care provided in the state.

The governor said the measures came in response to new laws in several Republican-led states restricting or banning health care for transgender people and penalizing parents who consent to such care for their children.

“While other states target LGBTQ+ people with bigotry and fear mongering, New York is fighting back,” the governor said in a statement. “These new laws will anchor our state as a beacon of hope, a safe haven for trans youth and their families, and ensure we continue to lead the country in LGBTQ+ rights.”

The visit of Mrs. Harris at the Stonewall Inn came a day before the 54th anniversary of the Stonewall riots, which began after a police raid provoked a violent reaction from bar patrons.

The vice president’s visit also fell on June 26, the anniversary of three Supreme Court rulings that laid the groundwork for many of the rapid advances the LGBTQ movement has made in recent years: Lawrence v. Texas, which banned sexual activity same-sex decriminalized in 2003; United States v. Windsor, which ruled in 2013 that a ban on same-sex marriage was unconstitutional; and Obergefell v. Hodges, which ruled that the right to same-sex marriage is protected by the Constitution.

While serving as San Francisco’s district attorney, Ms. Harris spent Valentine’s Day in 2004 conducting same-sex marriages before the state Supreme Court ordered the city to stop performing the marriages and nullified unions.

At the Stonewall Inn on Monday, she said it “hurt” her to see state laws passed nearly 20 years later, such as the Florida measure banning discussions of sexuality and gender identity in schools, which critics refer to as “Don’t t Say Gay”. .”

“We can’t take anything for granted in terms of the progress we’re making,” Ms Harris told the crowd at the bar. “We must be vigilant. That is the nature of our fight for equality.”