President Joe Biden and Elton John will be visiting the site of the Stonewall Uprising, as he visits New York City this weekend.
Biden and John will be visiting the Stonewall Inn, to commemorate the gay rights riots that took place on June 28, 1969, according to the New York Post. The visit to the Stonewall Inn will come a day after Biden’s debate with former President Donald Trump, and before attending a fundraiser held at the Hammerstein Ballroom at the Manhattan Center.
The riots, also known as the Stonewall Uprising, began after police officers in New York City “raided the Stonewall Inn, a gay club located in Greenwich Village,” and sparked the rise of the gay rights movement, according to History.com.
John, who is openly gay, has been vocal about gay marriage. In June 2014, he stated that if “Jesus Christ was alive today,” he would support gay marriage.
In a recent press release from the Democratic National Committee (DNC), the “wins” that Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris’ have “secured” for LGBTQ+ Americans were highlighted.
“President Biden is standing up against Trump and his MAGA minions’ extreme anti-LGBTQ+ agenda,” Tracy King, the director of outreach communications for the DNC said in a statement. “The Biden-Harris administration has reversed Trump’s hateful executive actions that targeted the LGBTQ+ community. President Biden championed the Respect for Marriage Act, protecting marriage equality in federal law. He signed an executive order to protect LGBTQ+ Americans from discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity on his first day in office, has continued to push Congress to pass the Equality Act, and became the first president to issue a proclamation recognizing Trans Day of Visibility.”
While serving as president, Trump urged other nations to decriminalize homosexuality in countries where it was illegal. Trump also named Ric Grenell the acting director of national intelligence under his administration, making him the first openly gay cabinet member to serve in a Republican administration.
In May, a gay couple held their wedding at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago residence.
