Governor Dannel Malloy (D-Conn.) is this year’s recipient of the John F. Kennedy Profile in Courage Award, which is given to public officials who take a principled stand on issues that are sometimes unpopular.
He is receiving the award for personally welcoming a Syrian refugee family to New Haven, after they had been turned away by Indiana’s Republican Governor Mike Pence following last November’s terrorist attacks in Paris. Malloy says he’s humbled by the honor.
”I pretty much do what I think is the right thing to do when it comes to human rights issues. Which includes gay and lesbian people and transgender people having their rights recognized and this was just a natural and very easy thing for me to do,” Malloy said.
Malloy will be presented the Profile in Courage Award at a ceremony at the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library in Boston on May 1.
The only other Connecticut Governor to have received the award was Independent Lowell Weicker for his stance on implementing a state income tax in 1992.