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U.S. Attorney General Loretta Lynch says the Department of Justice (DOJ) has been part of the “extraordinary movement” of the LGBT community that has led up to “a White House draped in the rainbow flag.” Lynch made the comments Tuesday at a LGBT Pride month event held in the Great Hall of the Justice Department. “So here and now, in this place, let us celebrate these achievements and express our own pride,” Lynch said. “Pride in this country for drawing closer to the promise of equality and opportunity that was made at its founding more than two centuries ago. Pride in this Department of Justice for being a part of an extraordinary movement that has made its way from a bar in Greenwich Village to the steps of the Supreme Court to a White House draped in the rainbow flag.”
Over the course of her speech Lynch touched upon actions taken under the Obama administration to further LGBT efforts. Lynch cited the repeal of Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell, the U.S. Supreme Court ruling against the Defense of Marriage Act and the DOJ taking legal action against North Carolina’s law requiring government employees and students to use bathrooms and other facilities according to their biological sex as LGBT progress. “In just the last few weeks, we have stood side-by-side with the transgender community to demand respect - to insist upon dignity and to ensure that transgender individuals are able to live the lives they were born to lead,” Lynch said.