Speak Out: With progress made, Pride will continue

More than 300,000 people gathered in Denver’s Civic Center June 15 and 16 to support the LGBT community at Denver PrideFest, bringing more than 25 million dollars into the local economy.

It touches the heart to see friends celebrate the freedom to love one another and advance equality in Colorado and beyond, and during the year LGBT Coloradoans and allies finally won the hard-fought battle to establish civil unions in the state, many Pride–goers speculated on what comes next – and what comes after even full marriage equality is gained.

“I think that’s the thing,” Leighanne Weigand said. “We’ve been fighting for marriage equality for so long, that we don’t really know where to go from there once we get it.”

Some said that goal – increasingly foreseeable as more states establish equal marriage than ever and the U.S. Supreme Court prepares to issue its first–ever rulings related to same-sex marriage this month – is the finish line for the movement.

“Making gay marriage legal; it’s a natural progression,” Ralph said, who was visiting from Seattle. “I think that’s the pinnacle.”

Carlos Martinez, chief executive officer for The GLBT Community Center of Colorado, the organization that puts on PrideFest, said the effort will continue toward ensuring equality and that means keeping the systems of government accountable for the laws that they pass when marriage equality is realized. Martinez remembers the social change that took place in civil rights during the ’60s and ’70s, including the laws put into place by the government – and that the laws put into place were not always followed by all levels of government. He said accountability must be a next step.

“You have to make sure that the systems are also there to support us,” Martinez said. “Otherwise, there’s no point to those laws.”

For others, like Grace Franklin and Sonnny Apodaca, equality for all means continuing to work toward dispelling stereotypes. “There’s still a huge stigma in the world about coming out and saying, ‘I’m gay,’” Apodaca said.

Franklin said she is especially passionate about adoption, which in some states or through some agencies can be complicated or difficult for same-sex couples. “I think adoption needs to be changed, because the concept of family is so skewed in mainstream media that same-sex couples don’t get the same treatment,” she said.

As a community we have the power to show the world who we are. Pride is a time where people come together and show this to be true – which is part of what makes this annual summertime celebration such a wonderful time of year.