June is
Pride Month
June is Pride Month, an annual celebration of the contributions of LGBTQ+ (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer) people to our society and culture in the United States and around the world. Major cities, including Philadelphia and Pittsburgh, host month-long celebrations, featuring parades, picnics, parties, concerts, and more. The month also highlights the trailblazers in the community and remembers those lost to hate crimes or HIV/AIDS.
History
The Gay Rights Movement in the United States began 100 years ago in 1924, with the founding of the Society for Human Rights in Chicago. It’s the first documented gay rights group in US history.
After World War II, more groups formed across the country in support of basic civil rights for the LGBTQ community, like the Mattachine Foundation in 1950 and One Inc. in 1952.
Despite its growth and progress, the movement faced significant setbacks.
In 1952, the American Psychiatric Association listed homosexuality as a form of mental disorder and in 1953, President Dwight D. Eisenhower signed an executive order banning gay people from federal jobs.
Through the 1960s (and in decades prior), homosexuality was criminalized through laws and statutes. Even engaging in affectionate behavior in public (holding hands, kissing, or dancing) with someone of the same sex was illegal in most of the United States, leading to continued harassment and arrest of LGBTQ+ individuals.
Then came a night in the summer of 1969 that changed the course of the Gay Rights Movement.
The Stonewall Riots
The Stonewall Riots in New York City are considered a pivotal and defining moment of the Gay Rights Movement.
They began June 28, 1969, after police aggressively raided the Stonewall Inn, a gay club in Greenwich Village. The riots lasted six days and made headlines around the world, putting the gay rights movement in the global spotlight.
The following year, on the one-year anniversary of the riots, community members in New York City organized and participated in a Christopher Street Liberation Day march. This is now considered to be the first gay pride parade.
On June 24, 2016, President Obama announced the designation of the first national monument to lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) rights known as The Stonewall National Monument. It encompasses Christopher Park, the Stonewall Inn, and the surrounding streets that were the sites of the 1969 Stonewall uprising.
Further Reading
Standing Up for the LGBTQ+ Community
Pennsylvania Senate Democrats are committed to fighting for equality and fair treatment for all individuals, regardless of their sex, sexual orientation, or gender identity, expression. This work continues at a crucial time when legislative bodies across the country, including here in Pennsylvania, introduce and pass discriminatory bills targeting the LGBTQ+ community.
In 2022, Pennsylvania Republicans passed legislation in both chambers that would ban transgender girls from participating in female school sports.
State Democrats stood united to call out the bill for what it was: an assault on the identity of transgender individuals and an attempt to exclude and marginalize a group of people who are only seeking to be their authentic selves.
As promised, then Governor Tom Wolf vetoed the discriminatory legislation.
In May 2023, House Democrats made history when they passed HB 300, the Fairness Act. The legislation would ban discrimination in Pennsylvania based on sex, sexual orientation, or gender identity, expression.
Governor Josh Shapiro, who as Attorney General consistently fought for LGBTQ+ Pennsylvanians and stood up to the Trump administration’s efforts to roll back rights and protections, says he would proudly sign the bill.
Senate Democrats strongly support the Fairness Act and are calling on Senate Republicans to bring the legislation up for a vote.
Our members have also introduced their own bills to improve current systems and better serve and empower the LGBTQ+ community, including:
Senate Bill 150 sponsored by Senators Santarsiero and Saval – This bill would prohibit discrimination based on an individual’s sexual orientation, gender identity or expression.
Senate Bill 326 sponsored by Senator Street – This bill would require all state forms which collect demographic information to contain a voluntary LGBTQ+ identifier question for respondents to answer.
Senate Bill 370 sponsored by Senator Street – This bill would award grants to non-profit organizations and local governments for health care, cultural competency, computer training, job placement, social activities, and other programs that specifically help the LGBTQ+ senior community.
Senate Bill 474 sponsored by Senator Boscola – This bill would protect LGBTQ+ individuals from discrimination in the credit service industry.
Senate Bill 523 sponsored by Senators Kearney, Cappelletti, Muth, and L. Williams – This bill would protect individual privacy and prevent discrimination by removing sex designations on PA birth certificates.
Senate Bill 524 sponsored by Senators Kearney, Cappelletti, Muth, and L. Williams – This bill would direct that money be allocated, from the general fund, to establish a grant program, housed in DCED, for organizations, county governments, and municipal governments that assist transgender individuals in navigating the process of changing their names.
Senate Bill 526 sponsored by Senators L. Williams, Cappelletti, Kearney, and Muth – This bill would require the Pennsylvania Human Relations Commission to provide accurate, publicly available information detailing the name change process and the steps required in a widely available, accessible format, a dedicated and safe point of contact to help trans individuals navigate the name change process and connect with resources in their area, and training so that all staff, judges, and administrators involved in the name change process are knowledgeable, competent, and affirming.
Senate Bill 528 sponsored by Senators Muth, Cappelletti, Kearney, and L. Williams – This bill would make the legal name change process more affordable and create privacy protections by removing the Title 54 requirements for publication and mandating the sealing of court records from the outset of the proceedings.
Senate Bill 530 sponsored by Senators Cappelletti, Kearney, Muth, and L. Williams – This bill would replace the antiquated judicial name change process in Pennsylvania with a simpler, more streamlined, and largely administrative process.
Senate Bill 554 sponsored by Senators L. Williams and Comitta – This bill would protect LGBTQ+ students from being discriminated against by schools that receive funding through EITC and OSTC.
Senate Bill 574 sponsored by Senators Muth, Cappelletti, Kearney, and L. Williams – This bill would eliminate both the permanent bar and the two-year wait period for formerly incarcerated felons who have served their time and wish to change their names so that they can live life as their genuine identity.
Senate Bills 648-653 sponsored by Senator Costa – This bill package addresses hate crimes and ethnic intimidation in Pennsylvania by improving enforcement of our hate crime statute and providing victims with additional support and relief.
Senate Bill 880 sponsored by Senators Kane and Muth – This bill would prohibit the use of solitary confinement on pregnant women, LGBTQ+ individuals, anyone age 21 and younger, and anyone age 70 and older in Pennsylvania, and caps the use of solitary confinement for all other incarcerated individuals at 15 days.
Senate Bill 902 sponsored by Senator Collett – This bill would prohibit the use of any LGBTQ+ panic defense in this Commonwealth.
Senate Bill 926 sponsored by Senator Cappelletti – This bill would require Pennsylvania’s State Librarian and our local libraries to 1) adopt the American Library Association’s Library Bill of Rights, which states that materials should not be proscribed or removed because of partisan or doctrinal disapproval; and to 2) develop a written statement that prohibits the local library from banning books or other materials. Pennsylvania ranks among the worst states in book banning efforts, where there were 56 attempts to ban 302 unique titles. Of those titles, the vast majority were written by or about members of the LGBTQIA+ community or by and about Black, Indigenous, and people of color.
Senate Resolution 36 sponsored by Senator Santarsiero – This resolution would recognize February 15, 2023, as “Love is Love Day” in Pennsylvania.
Senate Resolution 131 sponsored by Senator Street – This resolution would recognize June 2023 as LGBTQ+ Pride Month in Pennsylvania.
Senate Resolution 214 sponsored by Senator Haywood – This resolution would recognize the accomplishments of freedom fighters, including LGBTQ activists Frank Kameny and Marsha P. Johnson.
Co-sponsorship Memo circulated by Senator Santarsiero – This resolution would recognize February 15, 2024, as “Love is Love Day” in Pennsylvania.
Co-sponsorship Memo circulated by Senator A. Williams – This bill would ban state-licensed mental health professionals from engaging in sexual orientation “reparative” or “conversion” therapy with minors, otherwise referred to as sexual orientation change efforts.
Co-sponsorship Memo circulated by Senator Comitta – This bill would commission and place a bust of West Chester native Bayard Rustin, a prominent historical civil rights and LGBTQ rights activist, in the Pennsylvania Capitol Complex.
Trailblazers
