Virginia LGBTQ+ Leaders to Boycott Governor’s Pride Month Event
Gov. Glenn Youngkin is trying to use LGBTQ+ people during Pride Month as pawns in his political game.Critics say that a last-minute Pride Month reception hosted by Youngkin, to be held Wednesday evening and only announced 48 hours prior, is offensive and opportunistic, and people ought to boycott it.Monday afternoon, Erik Conyers, an assistant in Youngkin's office, sent an email to 33 recipients."You are invited to join Governor Youngkin on Wednesday, June 8th from 5–6 pm at the Virginia State Capitol Rotunda to celebrate our LGBTQ+ residents during Pride month," Conyers wrote.The email concludes with a request for RSVP, instructions on security procedures, and a note that the invitation is nontransferable.Youngkin has been far from kind to the LGBTQ+ community and openly opposes marriage equality, something 71 percent of Americans support, according to a recent Gallup survey.As Equality Virginia notes, he does not support same-sex marriage, despite it being legal nationwide since 2015.
Instead, he supported "license to discriminate" laws. In addition, he opposes transgender kids competing in school sports on the teams that best fit their gender identity, saying that it wasn't fair.
Last year on the first day of Pride Month, Youngkin sided with a teacher who had been suspended after refusing to use a student's correct pronouns.
The future governor said he was looking out for the students in the school district. James Milner is the program director for Virginia Pride.
