Let’s celebrate together inclusiveness, acceptance, and positivity with Pride Month!
In the last few decades, Pride has been celebrated in cities around the globe with bigger and bigger events such as parades, marches and protests. In June 2019, an estimated 5 million people attended NYC’s annual Pride march, which coincided with World Pride, which moves to a different major city each year.
However, this year, the Big cities are ‘playing the safe card’ with small gatherings and virtual events.
Where it all Began:
Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and Queer (LGBTQ) Pride Month is currently celebrated each year in the month of June to honor 1969 Stonewall Uprising in Manhattan. The Stonewall Uprising was a tipping point for the Gay Liberation Movement in the United States. In the United States the last Sunday in June was initially celebrated as “Gay Pride Day,” but the actual day was flexible. In major cities across the nation the “day” soon grew to encompass a month-long series of events. Today, celebrations include pride parades, picnics, parties, workshops, symposia, and concerts, and LGBTQ Pride Month events attract millions of participants around the world. Memorials are held during this month for those members of the community who have been lost to hate crimes or HIV/AIDS. The purpose of the commemorative month is to recognize the impact that lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender individuals have had on history locally, nationally, and internationally.
LGBT rights in California
Did you know that California is seen as one of the most liberal states in the U.S. in regard to lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender (LGBT) rights, which have received national recognition since the 1970s?
There are many protections for LGBT people under California law, particularly for housing, credit, public accommodations, labor and employment.
California law clarifies protections against hate crimes based on sexual orientation and gender identity or expression, alongside other categories. State law provides penalty enhancements for a crime motivated by the victim’s perceived or actual sexual orientation or gender identity.
California law also prohibits “discrimination, harassment, intimidation, and bullying based on actual or perceived characteristics including immigration status, disability, gender, gender identity, gender expression, nationality, race or ethnicity, religion, sexual orientation, or association with a person or group with one or more of these actual or perceived characteristics”. The state’s anti-bullying law also includes a prohibition on “cyber sexual bullying”, encourages school districts to inform pupils regarding available information and resources regarding the dangers and consequences of bullying, and directs the Department of Education to develop an online help tool to assist all school staff, school administrators, parents, pupils, and community members in increasing their knowledge of the dynamics of bullying and cyberbullying.
LGBT Rights Timeline In California
- Same-sex sexual activity legal – Since 1976
- Equal age of consent – Since 1976
- Access to IVF for lesbian couples – 1976 Anti-discrimination laws for sexual orientation – Since 1992 – In employment, since 2000 – In housing, and since 2005 in public accommodations.
- Recognition of same-sex couples as domestic partners – Since 1999
- Anti-discrimination laws for gender identity – Since 2003 in employment and housing, and since 2005 in public accommodations.
- Joint and stepchild adoption by same-sex couples – Since 2003
- Conjugal visits for same-sex couples – since 2007
- LGBT anti-bullying law in schools and colleges – 2008
- Same-sex marriages – Legal for five months in 2008, re-legalized in 2013
- Lesbian, gay and bisexual people allowed to serve openly in the military – Since 2011
- Surrogacy arrangements legal for gay male couples – 2012
- Conversion therapy banned on minors – Since 2013
- Gay and trans panic defense banned – Since 2014
- Legal access to single gender-neutral bathrooms – Since 2017
- Right to change legal gender – 2018
- Third gender option – Since 2019
- Transgender people allowed to serve openly in the military – Most Transgender personnel allowed to serve openly since 2021
In summary, if you feel like you are being harassed, bullied, discriminated against for loving the way you love, for dressing the way you like, for being who you are, we are here to fight this battle for you. Send us a message or give us a call today.
