Democratic National Committee Chairman Howard Dean today joined Massachusetts Democratic Representative Barney Frank and Wisconsin Democratic Representative Tammy Baldwin in issuing the following Proclamation marking the start of PRIDE Month:

"Today, we join Democrats across America in celebrating PRIDE month and honoring the contributions that lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender Americans have made to our society.

Our Party’s commitment to protecting the fundamental right of every American to live in dignity with equal rights and protections under the law has never been stronger. Since the American people entrusted Democrats to lead our nation last November, we have stood up and shown that ours is the Party that truly values all families. This year, instead of fighting back divisive, discriminatory and politically-motivated attacks in the Republican Congress and Republican state houses across the country, together we are making tremendous progress toward building a more fair and just America. Our new Democratic majority in Congress is leading the way toward enacting important hate crimes protections and passing ENDA, while new Democratic state legislatures are passing important family protections.

But our work has barely begun. We must work together to protect and expand our Democratic majorities in Congress, elect more Democratic governors and state houses, and put a Democrat in the White House in 2008. If the accomplishments of the last six months show us anything, they show that our country and our communities are stronger under Democratic leadership. As leaders of the Democratic Party, we stand proudly with the LGBT community and commit ourselves to working together to build an America that is inclusive of all Americans, rejects the politics of fear and division, and renews our commitment to ending discrimination in all its forms.