Op-ed: Celebrating Pride and Commemorating Progress

In 1970, one year after the Stonewall Riots — when a police raid on a popular gay bar fundamentally changed the trajectory of gay rights activism in the United States — the Christopher Street Liberation Day Committee launched the first Gay Pride March to commemorate the Stonewall riots. During this march, thousands of people from all walks of life flooded the streets of New York City and defiantly celebrated their identities as they turned visibility into a powerful act of pride and resistance. Thirteen years later, in 1983, I marched in my first Pride celebration.

Since that first Gay Pride March in 1970, we’ve achieved many milestones in the fight for LGBTQ+ equality that people, including me, never thought we’d see in our lifetimes. From the legalization of marriage equality to having openly gay, lesbian, and transgender elected officials in local, state, and national offices — we’ve come a long way in New Hampshire and across the country since the Stonewall riots, but we still have a long way to go — and that’s never been as apparent as it is right now. 

This year, the circumstances surrounding Pride Month feel more akin to those of the marches in the 1970s, 80s, and 90s. In Washington, the Trump administration is pushing the same anti-equality agenda from decades past that will have rippling repercussions on our society, from banning trans individuals from serving in the military to cutting funding for HIV treatment like PrEP. The Trump administration even announced its plans to rename the USNS Harvey Milk, named after the assassinated civil rights leader and Navy veteran who was a prominent international LGBTQ+ activist and one of the first openly gay public officials in the United States. These are not isolated policies or coincidental actions; these are cruel, intentional attempts to erase the history of the LGBTQ+ movement and erode the progress that we have made to create a more inclusive and equitable society, just like the Pledge of Allegiance says: “With liberty and justice for all”.

We’re witnessing this alarming shift in the opposite direction of equality at the state level as well. Last year, Republicans in Concord repealed anti-discrimination protections for transgender Granite Staters that were signed into law in 2018. Families are fleeing New Hampshire because State House Republicans are blocking access to gender-affirming care, a decision that should remain between families and their doctors. Trans kids have become the targets of political attacks by Republican lawmakers who were elected to lower costs but instead spend their time and money bullying the most vulnerable members of our society. 

Not too long ago the fight for LGBTQ+ rights was bipartisan, but now the Republican Party has been more focused on weaponizing identity and pushing culture wars than working to find meaningful solutions to the kitchen table issues that people care about – affordable housing and child care, common sense investments in public education, and lower property taxes. Republicans who campaigned on lowering costs are instead taking away the personal freedoms and hard-fought rights that have moved our country forward, made our society more accepting, and saved the lives of those who simply want to live freely and authentically as who they are.

Amidst these anti-equality attacks, I remain optimistic about our future because I’ve seen firsthand how much progress we’ve made because of the incredible courage and bravery of early pioneers for LGBTQ+ rights, like Bishop Gene Robinson, the first openly gay bishop in the Epispocal Church; Gerri Cannon, New Hampshire’s first openly transgender legislator; and Senator Rebecca Perkins Kwoka, New Hampshire’s first openly lesbian State Senator. These leaders have helped shape national conversations and policies around equality and have driven meaningful change here in New Hampshire. 

I also think back to 1997, when then-Governor Jeanne Shaheen signed legislation to protect gay Granite Staters against discrimination. I vividly remember when, under Governor John Lynch, we were the first state to legalize marriage equality without a court order in 2009. It feels like yesterday when Chris Pappas was elected to Congress as New Hampshire’s first openly gay member in 2018. 

Pride month is an opportunity to celebrate the strides we’ve made toward achieving LGBTQ+ equality for all. It also serves as a poignant reminder that the fight for LGBTQ+ equality is ongoing, ever-present, and demands a heightened sense of urgency from all of us. Our energy to honor the fight of those who made this movement possible reminds us that we have come a long way since then, and we still have further to go. Just as Pride celebrations emerged on the heels of the Stonewall riots and decades before marriage equality became the law of the land, we will continue to be loud and proud about who we are.

And to any young LGBTQ+ Granite Stater out there, I want you to know that you are valued, loved, and supported — and that we are in this fight together.