At 9 am it was pouring rain. It stopped and dried up by parade time, but the skies stayed dark and gloomy, perhaps reflecting the times. Gay rights are under assault as never before.
Of course, it was not that long ago that LGBTQ people had no rights. Up until the current administration, gay rights have been expanding. In 1983 Karen Thompson began her legal battle to become the legal guardian of her brain damaged quadriplegic partner after a drunk driver slammed into her. She won in 1991. In 1984 Berkeley California passed the first Domestic Partnership law. In 1989 The New York State Court of Appeals ruled that a lesbian or gay couple living together for a least ten years can be considered a family for purposes of rent control protection.
In 1992, Massachusetts governor William Weld signed an executive order granting lesbian and gay state workers the same bereavement and family leave rights as heterosexual workers. In 1997 Hawaii became the first state to mandate statewide domestic partnership benefits to same-sex couples.
The next year, an Alaska Superior Court judge ruled that same-sex couples have a constitutional right to marry. The decision was stayed pending appeals. This was the first serious crack in DOMA, but anti-gay forces fought back hard. In 2003 U.S. Supreme Court [in a 6-3 decision] struck down the Texas sodomy state law banning private consensual sex between adults of the same sex (a decision that the current Supreme Court might overturn, since it is based on the same legal theory as Roe v Wade.) Then in 2003 Massachusetts becomes the first State to legalize gay marriage. Many legal battle later, on June 26, 2015 in Obergefell v. Hodges, the Supreme Court makes same sex marriage legal across the country.
Hate crimes against gay people have increased dramatically under the current administration, and this year’s parade did have a threat of violence, although it was deemed not credible. Police were out in force. Nearly every person this administration has hired has a strong anti-gay bias. It is practically a job requirement. They have stacked the courts, including the Supreme Court, with ant-gay judges who would love nothing more than to overturn Obergefell.
In Southern California our local representatives tend to not be anti-gay, and they were out in force. Riding along were Long Beach Mayor Robert Garcia (riding bikes with husband Matt Mendez), Vice Mayor Dee Andrews, Assemblymen Patrick O’Donnell and Mike Gipson, Councilmembers Jeannine Pearce, Suzie Price, Lena Gonzalez, Rex Richardson, Darryl Supernaw and Robert Uranga, Signal Hill Councilman Kerr Jones, and U.S. Representative Alan Lowenthal.
Grand Marshals included “The Young and the Restless” actress Kate Linder, Long Beach native and “RuPaul’s Drag Race” alum Delta Work, and the statewide LGBTQ civil rights organization Equality California.
La Mirada High School, Long Beach City College and the Long Beach Unified School District were in the parade. Lots of companies were represented, including Whole Foods, Hamburger Marys, Zillow Group, American Airlines, Museum of Latin American Art, Long Beach Airport, iHeart Radio, Cirque du Soleil, Press-Telegram, Virgin Orbit and Disney.
The theme this year was “A Million Moments of Pride, Celebrating the 50th Anniversary of Stonewall.” That was the riot at a New York gay bar that launched the gay rights movement.
Despite the gloom hanging over everyone’s head, there was still a spirit of joy and celebration. Lots of color. Lots of dancing. The Dykes on Bikes, as usual, started things off. There were drag divas marching who were the spitting image of The Golden Girls. A group marched as the cast of The Rocky Horror Picture Show. The cross–dressed nuns from the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence marched as they do every year. There were acrobatics in the street.
Many wore t-shirts offering Free Hugs. My initial concern was that the first hug was free, but then you were automatically enrolled in their monthly subscription. Turns out that was not the case
As is always the case, there was a small group of religious anti-LGBTQ protesters, telling everyone to repent and being ignored. They were dwarfed in number by the many church groups in the parade.
