EMILYs List Commemorates Pride Month 

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

WASHINGTON, D.C. – EMILYs List President Laphonza Butler released the following statement celebrating the start of Pride Month: 

“As Pride Month starts, EMILYs List celebrates the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGTBQ+) community and recognizes the amazing Democratic pro-choice women who identify as LGBTQ+. EMILYs List uplifts the groundbreakers and leaders in their communities like Minnesota’s Rep. Angie Craig, the first openly lesbian mother to be elected to Congress, Rep. Sharice Davids, the first openly LGBTQ+ House member from Kansas, and Virginia state Del. Danica Roem, who became the first openly transgender state legislator in U.S. history. This Pride Month, we highlight their historic firsts, and the doors they have opened for others in the LGBTQ+ community.

“While we celebrate the joy that comes from living out loud, we know the harsh realities the LGBTQ+ community face today. The continued attacks by extreme Republicans on the very existence of trans people, book bans that seek to prevent finding community in education, and near-total abortion bans that affect all pregnant people are all connected. Pride started as a riot – and it will continue to be both a celebration of the community, and a reminder that the fight is not finished. Abortion bans are an attack on bodily autonomy, and with Republicans making it clear that LGBTQ+ rights are next – we will continue to support LGBTQ+ candidates who have bravely chosen to run, and will certainly change the world.”

EMILYs List, the nation’s largest resource for women in politics, works to elect Democratic pro-choice women up and down the ballot and across the country with a goal of fighting for our rights and our communities. Our work is centered around a fundamental vision: Run. Win. Change the World. EMILYs List has raised $850 million in service to that vision and has helped Democratic women win competitive elections by recruiting and training candidates, supporting and helping build strong campaigns, researching the issues that impact women and families, running one of the largest independent expenditure operations for Democrats, and turning out women voters to the polls. Since our founding in 1985, we have helped elect the country’s first woman as vice president, 175 women to the House, 26 to the Senate, 20 governors, and over 1,500 women to state and local office. More than 40% of the candidates EMILYs List has helped elect to Congress have been women of color. Visit www.emilyslist.org for more information.