Jonathon Berman, jonathon.berman@sierraclub.org
Washington, DC -- June is designated as both Great Outdoors Month and Pride Month across the United States, but Donald Trump is failing to effectively commemorate either again this year.
With a mounting record of attacks on parks, monuments, and the public’s access to these vital public lands, Trump nonetheless acknowledged June as Great Outdoors Month yesterday. It’s rhetoric starkly out of line with Trump’s history of shrinking national monuments, attempting to drastically raise entrance fees at national parks, opening the door to uranium mining in parks, slashing funding for public lands, and with rumors circulating that he plans to end the popular Every Kid in a Park program in the near future.
Meanwhile, for the second year in a row, Trump refused to acknowledge June as Pride Month, as his attacks on the LGBTQ community add up, including his rollback if LGBTQ workplace and health protections, his attempt to ban transgender people from serving in the military, his defense of those who refuse to provide medical treatment and business services to LGBTQ people, and his selection of numerous anti-LGBTQ candidates to the courts.
In response, Sierra Club Executive Director Michael Brune released the following statement:
“With every month that passes, we are again reminded that Donald Trump will do anything and say anything to deceive the public and undermine the truth about his actions that threaten the people and places we cherish most. This is a month to celebrate some of the things that are best about our country, from the promise of equality to all no matter who they love to the promise of a natural legacy that is open and accessible to every individual. Whether he acknowledges either commemoration with words, Trump’s actions make it clear that he cares about neither.
“However, we will not let Trump’s ignorance stop us from celebrating Pride Month and the LGBTQ community with our friends, our neighbors, and our loved ones. We will not let his attacks stop us from getting outside and embracing the lands we love. And we will not let anything or anyone stop us from fighting to protect the people, places, and values of equality and justice we cherish every day of every month.”
About the Sierra Club
The Sierra Club is America’s largest and most influential grassroots environmental organization, with more than 3 million members and supporters. In addition to helping people from all backgrounds explore nature and our outdoor heritage, the Sierra Club works to promote clean energy, safeguard the health of our communities, protect wildlife, and preserve our remaining wild places through grassroots activism, public education, lobbying, and legal action. For more information, visit www.sierraclub.org.