Westchester Legislators Celebrate LGBTQ Pride Month

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: June 17, 2013

Contact: Tom Staudter | ThomasS@westchesterlegislators.com | 914-995-2819 (office) | 914-419-5221 (cell)

Westchester Legislators Celebrate LGBTQ Pride Month

White Plains, NY – The Westchester County Board of Legislators (BOL) held its annual celebration of LGBTQ (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender & Queer) Pride Month at its regular meeting tonight, and honored The LOFT, a not-for-profit community center for lower Hudson Valley residents that has furthered the cause for inclusion, diversity and pride over the past thirty years.

David Juhren, executive director of The LOFT, accepted a proclamation from Legislator Alfreda Williams (D-Greenburgh), chair of the BOL Community Service Committee, and Legislator Bill Ryan (D-White Plains), chair of the BOL Legislation Committee.

“The story of our country’s Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer and Questioning community is the story of our fathers and sons, our mothers and daughters, and our friends and neighbors who continue to make our country a more perfect Union, where equality becomes less a dream and more a reality year after year,” said BOL Chairman Ken Jenkins in his remarks at the beginning of the event. “It is a story about the struggle to realize the great American promise that all people can live with dignity and fairness under the law.”

Jenkins noted that the BOL chooses to commemorate the courageous individuals who have fought to achieve this promise of dignity for LGBTQ Americans as a way to “re-dedicate ourselves to the pursuit of equal rights and equal opportunities for all, regardless of sexual orientation or gender identity.”

“Every generation of Americans has brought our nation closer to fulfilling its promise of equality,” added Jenkins. “Last year, Governor Andrew Cuomo was able to achieve marriage equality here in New York—a watershed event, indeed. While progress has taken time, our achievements in advancing the rights of LGBTQ Americans remind us that history is on our side, and that the American people will never stop striving toward liberty and justice for all.”

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Bazzo 06/18/13