Illustration by Tess Brzycki
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Biden Presidency Bodes Well
FOR A RETURN TO LGBTQ PROGRESS By Paul Masterson
A
s 2021 began, the LGBTQ community (and perhaps much of free world) breathed a sigh of relief. On January 20, the inauguration of Joseph Biden as the 46th President of the United States and Kamala Harris as Vice President signaled a respite from hate. A hopeful celebration of democracy and diversity, the event heralded an optimistic return to compassion and social justice. For many, including myself, it elicited tears of joy and pride. For all its many moments of inspiration, the inaugural fête also revived our sense of humor. An image of a chilled Bernie Sanders in winter array continues to provide a relentless stream of bemittened Bernie 56 | SHEPHERD EXPRESS
memes, including one of him perched on the stalwart shoulders of our very own Milverine, in St. Christopher’s manner, resolutely carrying his charge. By the way, a Vermont lesbian mom knitted those now immortalized mittens. It was not mittens alone marking the change of fortune for LGBTQ Americans. That morning after “we’re not in Kansas anymore” afterglow saw Joe Biden setting about to reverse the previous regime’s efforts to restrict LGBTQ rights. An executive order has already overturned the transgender military service ban declared in 2017. LGBTQs are among the many new and diverse faces in both the cabinet and high government positions: Pete Buttigieg
as Secretary of Transportation, Rachel Levine, a transwoman, as Assistant Secretary of Health; Ned Price as spokesman for the U.S. State Department; Karine JeanPierre as the administration’s principal deputy press secretary; Carlos Elizondo as the administration’s social secretary. More are, no doubt, yet to come. The Rainbow flag will again fly at U.S. embassies. Acknowledgement of genre diversity has reached even to the extent of an official administration request for White House staff members to name their preferred pronoun. Meanwhile, as if to underscore the new administration’s commitment to inclusion, First Lady Dr. Jill Biden visited an LGBTQ community health clinic.
