As we celebrate and declare June as Pride Month in California, we are reminded of what makes California great – our remarkable capacity to live together and advance together across every conceivable difference. This June, we stand with the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) community of California as they declare their pride in who they are and who they love.
This year marks the 50th anniversary of the Stonewall riots – the birth of Pride celebrations as we know them. We honor the fight that the LGBTQ community in New York City mounted to protest the hostility and discrimination they faced from police. Stonewall Inn was a refuge for queer people of color, homeless young people, and drag queens. This community united to demand acceptance and respect, at great personal risk to themselves.
The protest inspired Pride celebrations across the world, and sparked the LGBTQ rights movement in America. Time and time again, this community has worked tirelessly for respect and equality. Their battles have been fought in the courts, from marriage equality to demanding equal protection under the law.
Their fight continues to this day, as we combat discriminatory laws across the country. While there has been remarkable progress towards acceptance and equality in recent years, members of the LGBTQ community in the United States and around the world still face an unacceptable level of discrimination and violence. We must remain vigilant and push back against those who seek to roll back our progress, and continue to make the case that each of us as human beings share a fundamental thing in common – all of us want to be loved, and all of us want to love.
In California, we celebrate and support our LGBTQ community’s right to live their lives out loud – during Pride month and every month. As we celebrate Pride across this state, we must continue to demand equal rights for all to create a California for all.