coming out day

LGBTQ staff at White House post photo to mark National Coming Out Day

LGBTQ staff at the White House
LGBTQ staff at the White House (Photo: The White House/Twitter)

LGBTQ staff at the White House took a group photo and posted it to mark National Coming Out Day yesterday.

They posted on the official White House Twitter account. An accompanying message said, “On National Coming Out Day, the Biden-Harris Administration celebrates the courage of the LGBTQI+ community and reaffirms that LGBTQI+ rights are human rights.”

National Coming Out Day dates back to the late 1980s and has grown in profile with each decade.

Related: White House trashes Marjorie Taylor Greene with one, brutal tweet

Another member of the White House team also shared her own story. Press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre is the first out gay woman and the first Black woman to occupy the role.

Karine Jean-Pierre, July 2021
Karine Jean-Pierre (Photo: Erin Scott/Public Domain)

At the start of yesterday’s White House press briefing, she said, “Like so many in the LGBTQ+ community, coming out wasn’t an easy thing to do. My family was traditional and conservative. Being gay in my family wasn’t something that you mentioned out loud or celebrated.”

“But my family, like many families, grew to accept who I was. Who I loved didn’t change who I was as a person. It didn’t change the things I liked to do, and it didn’t change the goals I had for my life,” she continued.

“The beauty of America is its freedom and the promise that you can do anything you want regardless of your race, sex, country of origin, sexual orientation or gender identity.”

Related: Stephanie Hsu on how ‘Everything Everywhere All At Once’ is helping people come out

Vice President Kamala Harris was among allies to post messages of support in celebration of Coming Out Day.

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