White House postpones Pride event due to smoke from Canadian wildfires engulfing DC

The White House postponed a Pride event to be held on the South Lawn due to smoke from the wildfires in Canada engulfing the nation’s capital.

The event that was scheduled for Thursday is now planned for Saturday. It is set to be the largest Pride Month celebration in White House history as the Biden administration attempts to push back against GOP moves to restrict the rights of the LGBT+ community at the state level.

If there’s any hope that air quality in Washington, DC will improve, the event will draw thousands of attendees for a celebration of LGBT+ families with singer Betty Who and Baltimore DJ Queen HD, according to Reuters.

“Today’s Pride event on the South Lawn of the White House will be postponed until Saturday based on projected air quality in the region,” the White House said.

Ahead of Thursday’s planned event, the administration announced new measures to protect LGBT+ communities.

“More than a dozen states have enacted anti-LGBTQI+ laws that violate our most basic values ​​and freedoms as Americans, and are cruel and callous to our children, neighbors, and members of our community,” the White House said.

The measures include launching an “LGBTQI+ Community Safety Partnership,” which includes the Civil Rights Division’s Assistant Attorney General serving as the community liaison.

The administration is also working to strengthen “mental health resources for LGBTQI+ youth, launching a new federal initiative to address LGBTQI+ youth homelessness, freeing up federal funds to support programs that help parents affirm their LGBTQI+ children, and promoting new regulations to protect LGBTQI+ youth in foster care. careful”.

“The Department of Education will appoint a new coordinator to address the growing threat posed by book bans to students’ civil rights,” the administration said.

Washington Metropolitan Council of Governments tweeted on Thursday that “current air quality in the DC region is Code Purple, very unhealthy for everyone due to continued smoke from the fires in Canada.”

City Hall aggregate that the region “has not previously recorded a Code Purple day for fine particle pollution, the type of air pollution we are currently experiencing,” and urged residents to reschedule outdoor activities or move them indoors.

Smoke settled over the US capital after descending from more than 100 wildfires in eastern Canada, with an area of ​​low pressure off the east coast moving winds in the direction of DC.

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