June is Pride Month in Washington state
June is LGBTQ Pride Month, and Gov. Jay Inslee joined state employees and community leaders on Thursday to help raise a celebratory flag over the Washington State Capitol. Inslee raised the capitol’s first Pride flag in 2015, and the flag-raising has become a tradition ever since. It symbolizes the steady march of progress toward equality and righteousness.
Washington’s progress stands in stark contrast to many other parts of the country. More than 400 anti-LGBTQ bills were introduced across 47 states this year, proof that vigilance and activism remain as important as ever.
A joyous decade
On Feb. 13, 2012, Gov. Christine Gregoire signed legislation to make Washington state just the seventh state in the U.S. to legalize same same-sex marriage. The law was set to take effect just 90 days after the governor’s signature dried, but the law’s opponents organized to send the matter to a November referendum. The popular vote passed by a 7.4 percent margin, and Washington state’s very first same-sex couples would walk down the aisle together on Dec. 9, 2012.
In the years since, nearly 30,000 same-sex couples would recite their vows and take the plunge together.
The current “Love, Equally” exhibit inside the Secretary of State’s office at the capitol recounts the long journey to 2012 and profiles heroic Washingtonians who led the march. Vietnam veteran Margarethe Cammermeyer, for example, fought against homophobia in the military. Jim Obergefell dragged the issue of marriage equality before the United States Supreme Court, which ruled that the right of same-sex couples to marry is constitutionally guaranteed.
“I think the fact that you can be who you are and love who you will is one of the most beautiful things about the state of Washington,” said Inslee at the exhibit’s opening. “And I am glad to live in a time where we’ve made so much progress.”
The exhibit also featured contemporary figures advancing gay rights including Manny Santiago, the executive director of the Washington State LGBTQ Commission. Santiago is a serial organizer, advocate, and leader of LGBTQ initiatives.
“We’re seeing pushback to LGBTQ+ rights now because of how far we come,” says Santiago. “So future leaders need to learn from the history of the movement and learn how our predecessors navigated these realities. That will help prepare us for whatever is next.”
“The LGBTQ community has been the target of hatred for generations. We know how to survive, and that’s by coming together as a community and as a family to find solidarity in each other.”
Steady vigilance, continued action
Across the United States this year, a record number of anti-LGBTQ bills have been introduced by state legislatures. The bills seek to stifle education, ban books, limit access to health care, shrink civil rights, and even regulate dress for Americans.
Idaho lawmakers passed a bill to prohibit transgender students from using bathrooms matching their gender identity. Iowa lawmakers passed a bill to prohibit any mention of gender identity or sexual orientation in schools until seventh grade, even as students enter puberty. Drag shows have been a common target of anti-LGBTQ bills, which have gone so far as to define lawful clothing for men and women.
Even in Washington state, legislators floated bills intended to specifically limit the rights of LGBTQ Washingtonians. One bill sought to “protect the childhood of children” by depriving them of basic health and sex education should a parent object. It did not pass.
During each session of the Legislature, the state LGBTQ Commission creates a list of relevant legislation for LGBTQ community. Many pro-LGBTQ bills did pass this session, including a bill to prevent harassment and bullying in schools, a bill to prevent the collection and sale of private health data, and a bill to protect providers of gender-affirming care from out-of-state legal action.
“We know the criminalization of reproductive and gender-affirming care in some other states may involve the abuse of private health data,” said Gov. Jay Inslee in April while signing HB 1155. “We will not allow Washingtonians to be targeted and exploited using their own private health data.”
On May 30, Inslee proclaimed June as Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Asexual, Aromantic, Queer, Two-Spirit, Non-Binary, and Intersex Pride Month, encouraging all Washingtonians to join him in rooting out discrimination and promoting equal protection under the law.
Words from the flag raising
“(Kendy) Pride, to me, means a safe space to be fully authentic to who I am. (Marika) Yeah, and as a cisgender person in this world, I love my trans and non-binary friends and I just want them to be safe.”
“Pride means a great deal to me, to be present and visible with others and offer support and let them know that courts are here to protect individual rights.”
“Para mi, la bandera significa expresion, significa amor. Mucho colorido. Significa el respeto, la unidad, y que yo puedo estar cerca de mi gente LGBTQ. (For me, the flag means expression, it means love. It’s colorful. It means respect, unity, and that I can be close to my LGBTQ people.)”
