The Gay And LGBT Pride Movement
5. Overview, Beliefs, and Sphere of Influence
Gay Pride celebrates dignity, equal rights, sexual diversity, and gender variance. This social movement promotes community among lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people and uses the rainbow flag as its principal symbol. LGBT Pride has grabbed the attention of individuals, religious institutions, and governments all over the world. Activists seek to achieve equality in civil rights, education, and freedom of speech and seek protection against hate crimes. The movement has been and will continue to be influential in achieving social progress for the LGBT community.
4. History of the Movement
The Stonewall riots took place in reaction to police raids of the Stonewall Inn on June 28, 1969. These protests came after decades of anti-gay legislation, and the Stonewall Inn was one of the very few public businesses that openly accepted the gay community. This particular police raid (which were commonplace in the 60’s) was met with violent resistance from the patrons of the bar. The uprising continued for several nights, and it was this movement that marked a milestone in gay rights organizing. One year later, around 5,000 activists held the first gay rights parade in New York.
3. Contributions and Accomplishments
The fight for LGBT rights has been challenging, and the fight continues to this day. Although that is not to say that gay rights proponents have not accomplished a stupendous progress. From 1970, states moved toward decriminalizing same-sex sexual behavior and included sexual orientation protection in their civil rights statutes. The federal government lifted a ban on employing openly gay individuals in 1975. Five years later, the Democratic party took a stance in support of gay rights. Berkeley in California became the first city to offer employees domestic partnership benefits in 1984. In 1993, President Clinton initiated a movement to revoke the prohibition of gay and lesbians in the military; instead, “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” was enacted which permitted them to serve in the military services. Vermont, in 2000, legally recognized same-sex civil unions which began the chain of events that led to the Supreme Court granting the federal right to marriage for same-sex couples in 2015. In 2003, the Supreme Court overruled “sodomy laws” as unconstitutional, and four years later the House of Representatives passed a bill to ensure equal rights in the workplace for gay, lesbian, and bisexual individuals.
2. Challenges and Opposition
Although Gay Pride is a movement for equality, many organizations and individuals oppose LGBT rights. The groups that oppose legal protections for the gay community are largely socially conservative or religious. The reasons they claim for countering LGBT equality are rooted in religious beliefs, moral tendencies, homophobia, transphobia, and political ideologies. This last reason, political ideologies, presents a particularly challenging obstacle for gay rights activists as legal protections, and anti-discriminatory laws are dependent upon the vote and support of elected officials.
1. Modern Significance and Legacy
The Gay Pride movement represents a modern legacy that is continuing to gain strength and support to promote legal protections for all people everywhere. The solidarity of the LGBT community grows yearly and this, in turn, leads to more significant progress. With more supporters, the possibility of enacting change increases continuously. The Gay Pride movement is significant even today because the fight for equality has yet to end; activists are currently writing human rights history.
