June is Pride Month, a time to celebrate LGBTQIA+ communities and honor the significant victories since the historic Stonewall Uprising in June 1969. Six days of protest after a police raid of a popular gay bar in the Greenwich Village neighborhood of New York marked a major turning point in the visibility of the modern gay rights movement in the U.S. and around the world.
Here’s a link to a documentary that ran last year on PBS’ American Experience about Stonewall.
LGBTQIA+ rights are one of NOW’s six core issues and NOW is committed to fighting discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and or gender identity in all areas, including employment, housing, public accommodations, health services, child custody, and military policies.
NOW’s leadership is needed more than ever because the threats to our rights and even our lives have never been greater. The State Department has warned that terror organizations may attempt to target Pride Month celebrations around the world, warning U.S. citizens to “exercise increased caution.” It was during Pride Month in June 2016 when a man inspired by terrorist ideology killed 49 people and wounded 53 more at the Pulse nightclub in Orlando.
Last year, there were at least 145 incidents of anti-LGBTQ 145 incidents of anti-LGBTQ violence, harassment, vandalism, and extremism nationwide during Pride 2023 according to a report by the Anti-Defamation League and GLAAD, including the murder of a woman at a gas station in Texas by a stranger who shouted anti-gay slurs.
Pride reminds us of the spirit of activism and advocacy, and standing up for our most basic human rights. NOW members know that all persons are created equal, and every individual’s full humanity should be equally respected.
NOW supports legislation to ensure the rights of LGBTQIA+ people are recognized and protected, like the Equality Act which provides much-needed civil rights protections for LGBTQIA+ people and families. We must also, as President Biden has said, address the disproportionate levels of homelessness, poverty, and unemployment in the LGBTQIA+ community and end the crisis of violence against transgender women and girls of color.
This Pride Month, we have much to celebrate – and much to do.