It’s important for the United States not only to protect the gains made on LGTBQ+ rights but also to fight to expand them, Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra said Monday. 

Becerra gave the opening remarks at HHS’ Pride Summit at the department’s headquarters in Washington. 

“This game of defense can get tiring,” Becerra said. “We want offense.”

Aiming to improve the health and wellbeing of LGTBQ+ Americans, the Biden administration is looking to expand access to gender-affirming care and other health services, support identity affirmation and civil rights for LGTBQ+ people, and improve health equity.

Becerra said in his travels around the country, he’s met with transgender teens, people who have been attacked during Pride month and parents whose children have been denied gender-affirming care in order to learn how the federal government can better serve them. 

“We know that those are our families,” Becerra said. “Those are our kids. Those are our teens in school. And so we're going to do everything we can.”

He shared the story of a 15-year-old nonbinary person he met. The teen said they no longer felt comfortable going home and was now living in a homeless shelter.

The teen told Becerra of their situation, “You just muscle through.”

“To hear a 15-year-old say, ‘I'm just going to muscle through this homelessness, adversity, not being able to go home,’ it makes you recognize how tough you have to be, but also shows you the strength,” Becerra said.

“This particular individual showed a fortitude, an ability to somehow surpass all the odds. And I hope what we learn is that we can do that, too.”

The summit also included panel discussions and speeches from other Biden administration officials, including HHS leaders, and members of LGTBQ+ advocacy groups. The other speakers included White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre, who is openly gay, and Assistant Health Secretary Rachel Levine, a trans woman. 

Earlier this month, HHS announced a series of actions aimed at protecting the LGTBQ+ community. The department plans to issue an advisory to mental health providers with evidence-based practices for transgender and gender diverse youth. It also will issue guidance to states and communities on using federal funding to support mental health services for LGBTQ youth. 

Meanwhile, HHS’s Susbstance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration is providing $1.7 million in grants for programs that help families support their LGTBQ+ children, which lowers their behavioral health risks.

In addition, President Joe Biden’s Fiscal Year 2024 budget proposes tens of billions of more dollars to transform behavioral health services for all Americans, including LGTBQ+ people.

Monday’s summit comes amid a wave of Republican-led states passing laws that restrict gender-affirming care of transgender youths and backlash against businesses — including Bud Light, Disney and Target — for supporting the LGTBQ+ community or selling Pride merchandise.

A report released last week by the Anti-Defamation League and the LGTBQ+ advocacy group GLAAD tracked at least 356 incidents of anti-LGBTQ hate and extremism in the U.S. from June 2022 to April 2023.