This is kind of old news at this point but it's the first time I've come across it and the message is still an important one:
Democratic National Committee Chairman Howard Dean today joined Massachusetts Democratic Representative Barney Frank and Wisconsin Democratic Representative Tammy Baldwin in issuing the following Proclamation marking PRIDE Month:
"Today, on behalf of Democrats across America, we join together in celebrating the contributions that lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender Americans and their families make to our society and reaffirm our Party's commitment to promoting full equality under the law for every American.
"As leaders of the Democratic Party, we stand proudly with the LGBT community and commit ourselves to working together to build an America that is truly inclusive. Every American has the right to live in dignity, with equal rights, responsibilities and protections under the law. These are our country's and our Party's core values. Across the country, at every level of government, Democrats have championed sweeping protections in the areas of employment, housing, domestic partnerships and civil unions, adoption, gender identity or expression, and hate crimes.
"Despite all we have accomplished, our work is not done. We need to fight efforts to write discrimination into our laws and constitutions. We need to pass the Employment Non-Discrimination Act, pass the Matthew Shepard Hate Crimes Act, and repeal 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell.' We need a comprehensive, science-based strategy for combating HIV/AIDS. We must address the socioeconomic problems, including poverty and limited access to health care, that increase vulnerability to this disease.
"To do all of these things we need to put a Democrat in the White House, expand our majorities in Congress, and elect more Democrats at the local and state level across the country. To do that, we need you. Get active, get involved, and join us so we can take our country back."
