This year’s Pride Month has been rougher than most for Bud Light, Target and the Los Angeles Dodgers, but Adm. Rachel Levine wants the LGBTQ celebration to last the entire summer.
Adm. Levine, the Biden administration’s assistant secretary for health and first transgender official to win Senate confirmation, announced that this is the “Summer of Pride” in a video posted last week on the Health and Human Services Department’s Instagram account.
“Happy Pride Month. And actually, let’s declare it a Summer of Pride,” said the transgender official, who is an admiral in the U.S. Public Health Service.
“Happy Summer of Pride. It’s so important to have pride as a celebration for our LGBTQI+ community and to recognize how far we have come, but also how much work we have left to do,” she said.
The department is on board.
“All summer long we will be celebrating ‘Summer of Pride’ as HHS works to ensure a healthier future for ALL people living in the United States, during #pridemonth and beyond. Let the #SummerOfPride begin!” HHS said on Instagram.
Less than enthusiastic about the idea were conservative pundits who weighed in after the Republican National Committee posted the video Monday on social media.
“Admiral Rachel Levine declares the Summer of Pride. Welcome to the last days of empire,” tweeted Ian Miles Cheong.
Turning Point USA founder Charlie Kirk tweeted: “A day wasn’t enough. A week wasn’t enough. Now a month isn’t enough either. Their cultural conquest knows no bounds.”
The Twitchy Team chimed in with “Rachel Levine declares this the ’Summer of Pride’ and proudly pushes harder for mutilating kids.”
ADMIRAL LEVINE, Biden’s assistant secretary for health, says it’s no longer just Pride month — it’s a “Summer of Pride” pic.twitter.com/Y84AuBzQo0
— RNC Research (@RNCResearch) June 26, 2023
Adm. Levine, who reportedly transitioned from male to female in 2011, also discussed gender-transition procedures with female-to-male transgender musician Ryan Cassata, now 29, who underwent a breast removal, or “top surgery,” at age 18.
Nineteen states have adopted laws or rules restricting gender-transition procedures for those under 18, but Ryan Cassata said that some states had raised the age limit to 26.
“I think the states that are banning gender-affirming care, I know a lot of them are going until age 26, and that is much too long to wait,” said Cassata.
No state has done that, but even so, Adm. Levine replied, “Right.”
That figure was cited in a March report by the UCLA School of Law Williams Institute, which said that “Several bans proposed in 2023 would limit access to care for older youth up to age 26.”
Bills to raise the limit to age 26 were introduced in three states – Oklahoma, South Carolina and Texas – but none passed.
Foes of gender-transition drugs and surgeries for those under 18 argue that minors are too young to make decisions about potentially irreversible medical procedures.
Adm. Levine argued that “gender-affirming care” is needed for mental health and suicide prevention.
“Let’s talk for a moment about the trans health care that our community needs: transgender medicine and gender-affirming care,” Adm. Levine said. “That term is important although our opponents have weaponized it.”
Pride Month 2023 has been marked by cultural clashes over the transgender movement and drag queens.
Thousands protested the Dodgers’ decision to honor a group of drag queens who dress as Catholic nuns while performing blasphemous acts, while Bud Light was hit with a backlash for partnering with transgender influencer Dylan Mulvaney.
Target has taken a financial hit over its Pride Month line of clothing that includes a women’s bathing suit made to accommodate male genitalia.
• Valerie Richardson can be reached at vrichardson@washingtontimes.com.
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