Seth Moulton: “I want to start by thanking my remarkable colleague for his courageous leadership, truly courageous leadership, on this…”

“I want to start by thanking my remarkable colleague for his courageous leadership, truly courageous leadership, on this and so many other issues for the House of Representatives. I rise today to celebrate and honor the LGBTQ+ community during Pride Month. As we uplift this diverse and resilient community, I would like to use my time to spotlight the unique challenges faced by two important groups: LGBTQ+ youth and LGBTQ+ veterans. Today, a growing contingent of the Republican Party is scapegoating LGBTQ+ youth and veterans through ignorant rhetoric and irresponsible policies. Their words and actions are worsening an already devastating mental health crisis among these kids. Being a teenager is hard enough. You are finding your place, figuring out who you are and what you want to do. Now imagine waking up each day and hearing the people who are supposed to be leaders tearing you down, villainizing who you are, all for political gain. This is unconscionable, and it has real-life consequences. The Trevor Project estimates that more than 1.8 million LGBTQ+ young people attempt or seriously consider suicide every year in the United States. Another group whose challenges we don't talk about enough are LGBTQ+ veterans, who experience higher rates of depression and more frequent thoughts of suicide than others. I served with gay and bisexual great Americans in the Marines.…”