# Gay Pride Month: A Look at How Far We’ve Come



## Administrator

Every June, members of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) community come together to celebrate love in all of its forms. Pride Month involves a series of events and parades that take place in cities across the nation to commemorate the history and to continue the fight for equal LGBT rights. 

In this article, we’ll explore Gay Pride Month in greater detail, taking a look at its history, how it has developed, and what the future might hold for the LGBT community. 

*The History of Gay Pride Month*

The month of June was chosen for Gay Pride Month to commemorate the riots that took place at the Stonewall Inn in New York City on June 28, 1969. During this riot, members of the LGBT fought back against a police raid and the event became a tipping point in the gay rights movement. Throughout the month of June, pride marches, parades, concerts, workshops, and parties take place around the country to celebrate love, diversity, and acceptance. It is also a time to remember members of the LGBT community who have lost their lives to HIV/AIDS and hate crimes.

*How Far Have We Come with Gay Rights?* 

The first documented gay rights organization was The Society for Human Rights, founded by Henry Gerber in 1924. In 1950, the Mattachine Society was formed by activist Harry Hay, becoming one of the first sustained gay rights groups in the U.S, focusing on social acceptance for homosexuals. These two milestones represent the early progress made in the gay rights movement but, unfortunately, in 1953, President Dwight D. Eisenhower signed an executive order banning homosexuals from working for the federal government. 

Small victories continued throughout the 50s and 60s, culminating in the police raid on the Stonewall Inn. Later that year, the Los Angeles Advocate (later renamed “The Advocate”) became what is now the oldest continuing LGBT publication. Other milestones include the banning of same-sex marriage in Maryland during 1973, the removal of homosexuality from the American Psychiatric Association’s list of mental disorders in that same year, and Kathy Kozachenko becoming the first openly LGBT American elected to public office in 1974. Fast forward to 2010 when California’s ban on same-sex marriage is ruled unconstitutional and, in 2011, when “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” is repealed, ending the ban on gay men and lesbians from serving openly in the military.

*What Does the Future Hold? *

Though we’ve made great strides as a nation with gay rights, there is still much progress to be made. The definition of what makes a family is still up for debate with many still believing whole-heartedly that marriage is a bond between a man and a woman. When the Supreme Court struck down all bans on same-sex marriage in 2015, it opened the door for same-sex couples to adopt children. In 2017, the Supreme Court reversed a ruling and ordered that all states treat same-sex couples the same as opposite-sex couples when issuing birth certificates. This ruling has made adoption by same-sex couple legal in all 50 states. 

Though there will always be laws that make life difficult for certain groups of people, great strides have been made for gay rights in recent years. Hopefully, the trend will continue and the LGBT community will no longer have to fight twice as hard for the same basic rights given to heterosexual couples.

~VS Glen, Community Support


----------

