June Declared LGBT Pride Month

Declaring that “no person should be judged by anything but the content of their character,” President Barack Obama signed a proclamation yesterday designating June as “Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Pride Month.”
Every year since the start of his presidency, President Obama has declared June as LGBT Pride Month. The commemorative month honors the 1969 Stonewall Riots in Manhattan, a pivotal moment in the fight for equal rights in the United States.
The month-long celebration highlights the strides made toward equality over the years. Parades, parties, workshops and concerts unite people from all over the country. Memorials are even held to remember those who lost their lives to hate crimes or HIV/AIDS.
Tony Boyette, a local member of the LGBT community, tells News 25 even with landmark strides such as the 2015 decision to legalize same-sex marriages in all 50 states, there is still a ways to go toward complete equality. “It seems like every time we make a stride forward, we’ve got everybody trying to push us back. These ridiculous bathroom bills that created the problem that didn’t exist. So you know, we have to assess where we’ve moved backwards and what we’ve got to do to make that ground back up.”
President Obama agreed with Boyette in his proclamation, stating that “there remains much work to do to extend the promise of our country to every American.”