THE HISTORY

The month of June was selected to celebrate GLBTQ pride to commemorate the Stonewall riots. It was on June 28, 1969 that a gay bar called the Stonewall Inn was raided by New York police. Tensions between NY police and gay residents of Greenwich Village erupted into protests, and within weeks, Village residents had organized into activist groups with the mission of creating a safe place for people to be open about their sexual orientations without the fear of getting arrested. Ultimately, the Stonewall riots launched the gay rights movement across the nation.

TODAY

President Obama is commending Gay Pride Month by once again expressing his commitment to expanding the rights of GLBT people. In a proclamation, he stated:

I continue to support measures to bring the full spectrum of equal rights to LGBT Americans.

The proclamation also discussed his legislative priorities, including overturning the "Don't Ask Don't Tell" policy and the Defense of Marriage Act. He is unarguably more committed to gay rights than any other president the U.S. has seen. From Pride.BarackObama.com:



GAY PRIDE MONTH EVENTS

There are tons and tons of wonderful events for GLBTQ people and straight allies to attend to celebrate the queer community.

• If you're like me and you live in or near New York, you can visit NYCPride.org for the entire list of gay pride events, taking place between June 20th and 28th.


• Pride is also huge in San Francisco, where there are events all throughout the month. The main pride celebration will take place on June 27th and 28th.


• Boston has events from June 5th to the 14th. The Pride Parade will be held on June 13th at noon.


• Washington, D.C. Pride Week takes place from June 5th - 14th.


• But this only covers a fraction of the events happening in every state. You can check out the entire Gay Pride Month calendar, which includes events across the country and in other countries alike, to find an event near you.