June is Pride Month.  A celebration recognizing the impact and contribution of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender individuals throughout history.  Celebrations include Pride parades, picnics, parties, workshops, and concerts.  Specific recognition and memorials are held for those members of the community who have lost their lives to hate crimes or HIV/AIDS.  For example, on June 12th, we join with the LGBTQ+ community in remembrance of those lost in the tragic 2016 shooting at Pulse, an LGBTQ+ nightclub in Orlando, Florida.  June is a month of celebration of life and advancement, but also solemn reflections for those that suffered or were lost for the cause along the way.

Pride Month originated, in part, to honor the Stonewall Uprising.  On June 28, 1969, police raided the Stonewall Inn, a gay bar and nightclub in New York City.  The raid led to six days of protests.  This event is largely considered to be a turning point for the LGBTQ+ movement in the United States.

The Stonewall Uprising may have “sparked” it, but it was not the beginning of the movement for equal rights for the LGBTQ+ community.  In 1924, the Society for Human Rights was founded in Chicago, Illinois by Henry Gerber.  This was the first organization dedicated to the advancement of gay rights in the United States.  Among their noted advancements, this organization published the first gay-interest newsletter “Friendship and Freedom.”  Today, Mr. Gerber’s home is designated a National Historic Landmark.  Henry Gerber is credited with providing the LGBTQ community a voice, announcing world-wide LGBTQ concerns of required address.

June 15th marks the anniversary of the 2020 landmark decision of the United States Supreme Court in Bostock v. Clayton County, GA.  This decision confirmed protections of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 to the LGBTQ+ community.  The decision, written by Justice Neil Gorsuch, explains that “when an employer fires an employee for being gay or transgender, the employer fires that person "for traits or actions the employer would not have questioned in members of a different sex.”  As such, the decision provides the same “Zero Tolerance” protections in employment to members of the LGBTQ+ community.

The concept of diversity, equity and inclusion encompasses a culture that promotes representation and participation of different groups of individuals including members of the LGBTQ+ community.  In June, we celebrate Pride Month, but DEI must be embraced as a constant, vibrant thread binding together the ethics and values of our society.  It can be remembered on a day or celebrated in a month, but it must be lived and acted upon every day of the year.  By example:

March includes National LGBTQ Health Awareness Week.
March 31st is Trans Day of Visibility.
April 2nd is Sexual Assault Awareness Day highlighting LGBTQ+ resources for survivors of assault.
April 12th is a Day of Silence - a student-led national event raising awareness of the impact of bullying and harassment of LGBTQ students.  
April 26th – Lesbian Visibility Day.
May 17th is International Day Against Homophobia, Transphobia, and Biphobia.
June marks Pride Month with various celebrations and dates of specific remembrance.
September 23rd is Bisexuality Day.
October is LGBTQ History Month.
October 11th is National Coming Out Day.
October 16th is International Pronoun Day.
November 13th – 19th is Trans Awareness Week.
November 20th is Trans Day of Remembrance.
December 1st is World AIDS Day.
December 10th is Human Rights Day.

This is a demonstrative, not an exhaustive, list of important dates and opportunities to celebrate, reflect and advance the LGBTQ+ community.

James F. Devine, Esq. is the Managing Partner of the firm’s Lancaster office and Chair of the firm’s Employment Law practice group.