Remarks from the March for Pride, St. Lawrence University, 4/25/26

Good afternoon, and thank you all for having me here today and for allowing me to stand in solidarity with all of you and to share in your Pride.

I’d like to take just a few minutes this afternoon to share what I believe.

I believe that the government has no role, no right, and no authority in matters of who we choose to love or how we choose to express ourselves. This is what I have long believed.

And for a long time, I believed that was enough—that this was all a legislator, a candidate or a politician needed to say about these issues. But running for office, and life, has a way of broadening one’s perspective and exposing one to realities that were not fully understood before.  

A few months ago, my wife Miona and I attended several Adirondack Winter Pride events.  At one of these events held at Whiteface Mountain, we took a photo together in front of an “I Love NY” rainbow sign. As I typically do, I shared this photo on social media with a simple message: “Pride in community. Pride in the North Country. Pride in the fact that we love all of our neighbors.” And I added, “Our strength comes from our diversity, and we will always support what makes this country great—the freedom to take pride in who we are.”

It felt like it was a simple message. A message of unity. A message most people could embrace. 

But that was not the case.

Like any candidate, I try to post frequently about those issues important to us.  I expect disagreement with my positions. That’s part of democracy. But the response to this post was something different. While there was an outpouring of love and support, there was also a wave of hatred—comments filled with hostility and attacks aimed directly at this community.  

That experience changed something for me.  First, it caused immense sorrow to recognize this reality.  Second, and more importantly, it lit a fire within me.

I no longer believe it is enough for leaders to simply say that government should stay out of matters of love and expression. I now believe that the government has an affirmative obligation to protect the rights and dignity of every person.  That all politicians and candidates have both a legislative and moral imperative to ensure hate has no safe harbor in this land.   All public representatives must show up to affirm this fundamental truth, including the candidate claiming to be a Democrat and whose home and dairy farm is just minutes from this very event, but are noticeably absent today and on this issue in general.

This affirmative obligation means reaffirming these principles through action—by passing legislation like the Equality Act, by ensuring the Civil Rights Division is re-funded and that hate crimes are investigated and prosecuted wherever they occur and that the Department of Justice fully enforces the 14^th amendment of our Constitution, guaranteeing due process and equal protection under the law for every person in this land.

It means continuing to come together—at events like this, across the North Country, across this nation, and across the world—to show all of those in our community that we are united.  

United in the pride we have for our community.
United in the pride and love we have for all of our neighbors.
And united in the pride we have for who we are.

“Because the people united shall never be defeated.”  Thank you, all, for allowing me to share in your pride today!