Celebrating Pride Month 2019

Pride Month is a celebration of the LGBT+ community. All June long, cities around the world have participated.  This is a great time to recognize those landmark moments in LGBT+ history. As you’ll read, these powerful events advanced LGBT+ rights. Perhaps even more importantly, these moments paved the way for the ongoing struggle for equality.

5 Reasons to Celebrate Pride Month

At myLAB Box, we don’t need to wait for a particular month to celebrate. We love our LGBT+ community all year ‘round!

Let’s take a look at some of the significant moments in the history of LGBT+ rights. There are many to choose from, and many to come, but here are five moments of Pride in the United States:

1969 – Stonewall Riots

For many folks, the Stonewall Riots marked the start of the LGBT+ rights movement. You see, Stonewall Inn was a gay bar in Manhattan. On June 28, 1969, police raided the bar. This wasn’t surprising. After all, this was a common police behavior for gay bars during that era. In this case, the bar’s patrons fought back at great personal risk. The riots lasted for several days. By the end, thousands of people had joined the struggle.

1982 – Banned Discrimination Based on Sexual Orientation

In 1982, Wisconsin became the first state in the union to ban discrimination based on sexual orientation in employment, housing, and public accommodations. This bill revised the state’s non-discrimination regulations to include sexual orientation.

2009 – Matthew Shepard Act Established

In 1998, a twenty-one-year-old student named Matthew Shepard was tortured and killed in Laramie, Wyoming. The reason for this horrific crime? Matthew was a homosexual. The case drew significant media attention and shone a spotlight on the role that Shepard’s sexual orientation played in his murder.  In 2009, Congress passed the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act. This Act expanded the definition of “hate crime” to include gender and sexual orientation.

2010 – The US Repeals ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’

Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell was a federal policy that allowed gay individuals to serve in the Armed Forces under the condition that they keep their sexual orientation a secret from the military. Fortunately, this policy was repealed with the Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell Repeal Act of 2010. This new act allowed LGBT people to serve openly and proudly. Moving forward, these brave citizens would no longer be banned from serving based on discrimination of sexual orientation.

2015 – Same-Sex Marriage Legalized

In June of 2015, all 50 states legalized same-sex marriage. A Supreme Court ruling found that same-sex couples have the same right to marry as opposite-sex couples. Following this ruling, these couples were afforded the same rights and responsibilities as anyone else.

There you have it: five reasons out of so many to celebrate LGBT+ Pride this month… and every month! To every one of our readers and customers, Happy Pride Month! Thanks for keeping up the fight.