Admiral Rachel Levine, the transgender Assistant Secretary of Health for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, has declared that LGBTQ pride month will not be confined to June this year and instead 2023 will experience a “Summer of Pride” devoted to the movement.
Video of Levine making the remarks quickly went viral online, amassing nearly 250,000 views at press time.
“My name is Admiral Rachel Levine,” said the transgender admiral in a video posted online. “Happy Pride! Happy Pride Month, and actually let’s declare it a ‘Summer of Pride’. Happy Summer of Pride.”
ADMIRAL LEVINE, Biden's assistant secretary for health, says it's no longer just Pride month — it's a "Summer of Pride" pic.twitter.com/Y84AuBzQo0
— RNC Research (@RNCResearch) June 26, 2023
Levine made similar remarks on Twitter last Wednesday, using the official first day of summer to mark the beginning of the 2023 “Summer of Pride” using the official Assistant Secretary of Health Twitter account.
“All summer long we will be celebrating the ‘Summer of Pride,'” Levine ordered. “I see it as an opportunity for change in our communities, states&nation. [sic]” Levine then promised the “Summer of Pride” festivities will take nationwide effort but “create a wave of change” for the United States.
Today officially marks the 1st Day of Summer. All summer long we will be celebrating the “Summer of Pride.” I see it as an opportunity for change in our communities, states&nation. It will take us all, but together we can create a wave of change. Let the “Summer of Pride” begin!
— ADM Rachel Levine (@HHS_ASH) June 21, 2023
Levine, who lived much of her life as a married man with children named Richard, has become a frequent proponent of LGBT issues and target of criticism from conservatives.
Last year Levine said the government should “empower” children to get transgender surgeries, puberty blockers, and other “gender-affirming treatment” as a matter of medical necessity.
Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, reacting at the time, wondered whether Levine has “undergone the #WeenieCHop himself” or is “just pushing this on children” in a series of tweets the old management at Twitter deemed against its rules.
After making those comments, Levine doubled down days later by calling transgender treatments for children “life-saving” and “medically-necessary” for the patients.
“Opponents of LGBT equality have targeted trans and queer youth to score political points, all to distract from the fact that they don’t have any solutions to the problems that we face today,” said Levine, likely referencing Republican efforts to curtail children’s exposure to the transgender ideology.
“Gender-affirming care is life-saving, medically necessary, age-appropriate, and a critical tool for healthcare providers,” said the transgender official. “As a pediatrician, when it comes to making sure kids are healthy and happy, I know how important care that affirms someone’s true identity can be.”
