Gay Pride has come a long way in the last 38+ years. One of the major starting points for the Gay Rights Movement was the Stonewall Riots in New York June 27th, 1969. This would be the first time Gays received national attention in the media. I was only 10 years old at the time and knew nothing about it and wouldn’t for several more years, but I knew I was different.
cross posted at Booman Tribune, Daily Kos, refinish69, Texas Kaos,
Gay Pride is not just about a parade, party or a march. This part and parcel of it but it is so much more at the same time. I remember my first Gay Pride March. I was in Raleigh, North Carolina and had heard about it at the Capital Corral which was the gay bar in Raleigh. When I arrived at the staging area to march, I found friends and we walked around talking and laughing and building our courage to march down Hillsborough Street. We didn’t know if we would be cheered or jeered as we marched. There were certain groups present such as PFLAG(Parents, Families, and Friends of Lesbians and Gays) and other groups that I was unfamiliar with at the time. There were no big floats, no corporate sponsors or party groups. We marched chanting “What We Want? Gay Rights! When Do We Want Them? Now!” We were followed down the street by a man carrying a 7 foot cross with wheels who told us we were an abomination and would burn in hell. Being Young and full of fire and conviction and a little bravery from our numbers we were able to laugh at this and ask did Jesus have wheels on the bottom of his cross on the way to Calvary.
When we arrived at the State Capital, there were no elected officials there to speak. We had some local activist, a few from out of state and a gay writer speak to us about what we could do to make a difference. Now I had been active in politics and civil rights for a long time but had done very little about Gay Rights. I caught the bug and started talking to politicians, candidates and everyone who would listen about Equal Rights for Gays. Why should I be a second class citizen? Why should I have to hunt down bars that were hidden behind other businesses with no signs? Why couldn’t I walk down the street holding hands with my Boy Friend any day of the year and not just at Gay Pride? I wanted the same rights and protections as all my straight friends. What I realized at that first Gay Pride March is that I was okay. I was not sick. I was not an abomination. I was just as I was intended to be and as a Human, I deserved respect just as any other human did.
I know a lot of older activist hate the Gay Parades with corporate sponsors and the fact that the main stream media focuses on the Drag Queens, the Dykes on Bikes, The Leather Lords and the Muscle Boys on the bar floats. I also get upset when I realize that the only part of Pride that seems to get media attention is the more outlandish portions of the GLBT Society but as I get older, I remember what it was like to be young and coming out and experimenting. Yes, the youth are wild in their taste of Gay Freedom and I say more power to them!!! All to soon, reality such as work, middle age and family life will drain some of that energy and a lot of the creativity from them. Let them enjoy their moment in the sun as we older activist, along with many young ones work to stop bad laws and enact good laws to protect our rights.
Raleigh, North Carolina was the first city in the United States to have an anti-discrimination clause for city employees that included sexual orientation as a protected group. That came about be cause we were seen, we spoke out and we demanded fair treatment. No longer can a person be arrested in the United States for being gay or lesbian. Our bars are no longer raided and in most states employers will not fire you-even if they can- just because you are gay and in many states they cannot. We have 1 state where we can get married and several where civil unions are available and many cities even in states where civil unions or marriages are illegal where you can register as domestic partners.
Times have changed and are still changing. Just as with any civil rights movement, it seems sometimes that for every 3 steps forward, we take 2 steps back but the steps have been large ones and we will never go back to square 1. Gay Pride and Gay Rights go hand in hand and we will keep fighting to insure that someday Equal Rights For All People are a reality. Look at the difference so far. At my first Gay Pride March, there were no elected officials or candidates. This past weekend at San Francisco Gay Pride not only were there politicians galore in the Parade but Elizabeth Edwards spoke to the Alice B. Toklas Lesbian Gay Bisexual Transgender Democratic Club. This is the first time a Presidential campaign has ever spoken to a group at a Pride Event.
Times- They are a changing!!! We have to remember the past and use the past lessons and pain to keep moving forward even as we see the Religious Right and the Republican Party demonize the community. They might have passed some hate legislation and amendments in certain states- Texas included- but we can keep working and educating the general population and our elected officials and make a difference. The set backs during the past 12 or 13 years have only been set backs. We have also seen some of the most forward movement in Gay Freedom in major cities, states and nations.
Celebrate Gay Pride during June but remember Gay Pride and Equal Rights for All People is a feeling and a movement that is active everyday of the year. I look forward to the day when a gay or lesbian couple can hold hands, raise a family, or just be without fear. I know it will happen someday but the Pride can be now!!!
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