The president of Tucson Pride was in Washington D.C. this week for a private celebration at the home of Vice President Kamala Harris.
Jeff Fulgham, who was appointed Tucson Pride President last year, left for Washington D.C. Monday, after receiving an invitation to the private Pride celebration.
Tucson Pride, established in 1977, is Arizona’s first and longest established LGBTQIA+ advocacy group. Its mission is to empower and support the LGBTQ community of southern Arizona to build community, enhance visibility and offer unwavering support, Fulgham said.
Fulgham says he was at a complete loss of words when he received the Vice President’s invitation.
“To be completely honest, I didn’t think it was real,” Fulgham said. “It was something that was really shocking.”
Fulgham said that he had an incredible time at Wednesday night’s celebration and was amazed to see so many representatives from other pride organizations, influencers and even cast members from popular Netflix show Queer Eye.
“It was really nice to hear how much support there is to the LGBT community throughout the United States,” Fulgham said. “It was a nice Pride celebration.”
Fulgham also used his visit to the Capitol to advocate the amending of the Equality Act. “The Equality Act provides protections to LGBTQIA+ community through amendments to several laws including the Fair Housing Act, the Equal Opportunity Act, and the Civil Rights Act of 1964,” said a news release. Fulgham met with staff from the offices of Sen. Mark Kelly, Sen. Krysten Sinema, Rep. Raúl Grijalva and Rep. Juan Ciscomani.
“I have learned and felt that everything can be kind of taken away,” Fulgham said. “Tucson is pretty LGBT friendly, but it just seems with our legislation that that can change on a breeze.”
Fulgham says Pride Month is a time for the community to come together, and that pride events are a way to show how far the LGBTQIA+ community has come.
While most states celebrate Pride with parades and festivals in June, Tucson will hold these events in September. Visit tucsonpride.org to find out more about Tucson Pride events or to volunteer.
