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Kamala Harris joins Pride march, Internet says Secret Service 'clearly not happy'

Kamala Harris made history on Saturday, June 12, by becoming the first sitting US vice president to attend a Pride march

Kamala Harris made history on Saturday, June 12, by becoming the first sitting US vice president to attend a Pride march. VP Harris and her husband, second gentleman Doug Emhoff, marched with the crowd at Capital Pride in Washington DC.

VP Harris was seen wearing a pink blazer and a t-shirt with the slogan “love is love”, while Emhoff wore a t-shirt with the words “love first” written in the different colors of the Pride rainbow. In videos of the event, VP Harris was seen waving at attendees as she shouted, “Happy Pride”. She also addressed the crowd with a speech advocating for the US Senate to pass the Equality Act.

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“We celebrate all of the accomplishments, but we need to pass the Equality Act,” she said. “We need to make sure that our transgender community and our youth are all protected. We need, still, protections around employment and housing. There is so much more work to do, and I know we are committed.”

So far, the act has passed in the House in February. The Equality Act, if passed, will amend the Civil Rights Act of 1964 to include sexual orientation and gender identity as protected classes of people protected from discrimination in employment, housing, public accommodations, education and federally funded programs, and make current nondiscrimination protections stronger.

While many loved and appreciated VP Harris’ participation, there were also many who pointed out something that felt mildly concerning. “secret service clearly not happy about protectee going for a walk,” wrote a Twitter user. Another Twitter account said, “It’s awesome that they did this, but my first thought was for her detail — this kind of spontaneous public engagement (especially in a crowd that size) is anxiety-inducing for the agents.” One Twitter user said, “Their secret service look highly stressed despite their casual attire.”

“The @VP loves to talk to the people and the secret service seems very nervous about it. Thankful she has such vigilant protection,” said one Twitter user. 

By law, the Secret Service is authorized to protect: The president, the vice president, the president-elect, the vice president-elect, their immediate families, former presidents, their spouses,cChildren of former presidents until age 16, etc.

Aside from the Pride march, VP Harris on Twitter also acknowledged the fifth anniversary of the Pulse Nightclub shooting. On June 12, 2016, Omar Mateen, a 29-year-old man, killed 49 people and wounded 53 more in a mass shooting at Pulse, a gay nightclub in Orlando, Florida. In the hours before the shooting, Mateen used several Facebook accounts to write posts vowing vengeance for American airstrikes in Iraq and Syria and to search for content related to terrorism. 

Writing about the incident, VP Harris tweeted, “Five years ago, 49 LGBTQ+ people and allies were enjoying an evening out at Pulse Nightclub. And then, in an instant, they were gone. Today, we remember those who died and their loved ones—and we recommit to building a world free from gun violence.”