Palm Springs Mayor Middleton to attend Pride Celebration at White House
Palm Springs Mayor Lisa Middleton will be spending her 70th birthday at the White House later this week.
“To have an opportunity to represent our city at the White House with this President is just a remarkable moment,” said Mayor Middleton.
The City of Palm Springs announced that Mayor Middleton has accepted an invitation from President Joe Biden and First Lady Dr. Jill Biden to attend the annual Pride Month Celebration on Wednesday, June 15th.
“As far as I'm concerned, it's a celebration of Palm Springs and Palm Springs values.”
Mayor Middleton is the first person in California to serve as mayor and the third transgender person to serve in any American city. She was sworn-in in December.
“The community here has embraced my wife and I in ways that we never imagined we would see,“ Middleton said, "I thank them enormously for the support they've given me. But most importantly the support they give to our community and the pride that they take. In California, the Coachella Valley, my city being a place of welcome and opportunity.”
This celebration comes just after 31 masked members of white nationalist group, 'Patriot Front', were arrested in Idaho over the weekend. They are suspected of conspiring to riot near a pride event in Coeur d’Alene.
“The level of hate and potentially harmful acts that have been perpetrated on individuals within the LGBTQ community is something that is horrific,” Middleton said.
However, Middleton expressed that this event shouldn’t stop anyone from being themselves. “We're fortunate to live in California, very fortunate to live in Palm Springs. But that does not exist everywhere in the country. It should, and it needs to, these are American values, when we talk about opportunity and responsibility, and giving people a chance to show what they can do.”
And despite any negative comments circulating online towards members of the LGBTQIA+ community,
Middleton said they should feel proud and embraced.
“In our community, I see an incredibly embracing community that respects one another and understands that we've got challenges in our community. And we would go to work every single day to address those challenges.”
News Channel 3 will have updates on Wednesday as the Mayor attends the ceremony.
