Hågatña, Guam – In an historic first in the nation, the Leon Guerrero-Tenorio Administration has signed a PRIDE Pledge, along with its cabinet members, pledging to support and maintain safe workplaces and work environments for all employees.
“We are an Administration of firsts. As the first woman Governor of Guam, I am extremely proud to have Lieutenant Governor Joshua Tenorio, the first openly gay lieutenant governor of Guam and of the nation, as my partner,” said Governor Lou Leon Guerrero. “His passion for serving our community and desire for positive change is inspiring and should serve as a reminder that your sexual orientation does not define you and that we should never fear expressing who we are to anyone.”
Cabinet members or their representatives gathered today to take the Leon Guerrero-Tenorio Administration LGBTQ PRIDE Pledge, signing off on and committing to the belief that “all LGBTQ employees should have the freedom to be safe, healthy and visible.” The Leon Guerrero-Tenorio Administration further committed that “As Government Leaders, we pledge to use our voice and influence to support visibility, safety, tolerance, love, diversity and inclusion.”
“As we celebrate PRIDE month, let’s remember what gay pride is all about. When people support a member of our LGBTQ community with their presence during PRIDE events, especially if they don’t identify as LGBTQ, it means that they also don’t lump them into a group that is unaffected by them—it means that they are able to see and understand the value of a person’s humanity,” said Lieutenant Governor Tenorio. “I also want to recognize one of my inspirations, Speaker Benjamin Cruz, a trailblazer in the LGBTQ community, who was the first openly gay Chief Justice of any Supreme Court in the country.“
In addition to signing the first PRIDE Pledge, Governor Leon Guerrero and Lieutenant Governor Tenorio also proclaimed the month of June as PRIDE month. PRIDE month activities kicked off with the first annual Guam PRIDE 5k/2k Run/Walk on June 2, which raised about $2,000 for the ISA LGBTQ Scholarship Fund at the University of Guam.