Why Pride Month Is Important and Needed

Pride Month is a time for LGBT people to celebrate who they are, but there are those who are opposed to any rights for people like myself. Yes, marriage equality has been legal for almost four years, but queer people still face discrimination and are being denied services, because of religious convictions. There are many states that have so called "religious freedom" bills and county clerks who refuse to issue marriage licenses to LGBT people. Religious freedom is just another term for license to discriminate. People do have a right to believe in whatever they want, but when your personal religious beliefs hurt other people, there are consequences, and in most cases, these are deadly. This year is the 50th anniversary of the uprising of the Stonewall Inn, which was a pivotal movement for gay rights. Since then, there has been groundbreaking moments that happened for LGBT people everywhere, and here are some of them:

• June 2013: the repeal of the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA), which had previously barred the government from recognizing same sex couples.
• September 2011: the repeal of Don't Ask, Don't Tell (DADT), which had previously prevented gays and lesbians from serving in the military.
• October 2009: The Matthew Shepard & James Byrd Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act becomes law. This law was named after Matthew Shepard, who was tortured and murdered near Laramie, Wyoming in 1998 at the age of 21, because he was gay. The law was signed by President Barack Obama on October 28, 2009.
• June 26, 2015: Marriage equality is the law of the land in all 50 states.

I want to take this time to address the people who are so heavily opposed to LGBT rights, and why there isn't a so called "straight pride." The reason why there's a Pride Month, and also a LGBT History Month, is because queer people are among those who have been discriminated against, because of their sexual orientation or gender identity. Let's be honest. Straight pride is celebrated every day. Straight people aren't being fired for it, it's accepted by all, and you didn't have to tell your friends and family about it. LGBT people have been fighting for rights and equality for many, many decades. Just because marriage equality is now legal, it doesn't mean there's no more discrimination. Since Donald Trump took office, he's been hostile of trying to take away rights of LGBT people. Also, many gay and transgender people have died under his administration, because of his selfishness and lack of empathy.

On Facebook, I've noticed many people angry and offended at companies supporting LGBT rights. Some of the comments on their pages were harsh and critical, words that I can't repeat on here. If you're easily offended about companies supporting equality, you might as well boycott some of the following:

• Apple
• Visa
• Uber
• Google
• PayPal
• Coca-Cola
• McDonald's
• AT&T
• Target

It shows that treating people equally and fairly is good business.

Having a religious belief is not a hall pass for mistreating others who are different from you, or an "I can do whatever I want" card. You can't call yourself a Christian, and then stab others in the back that don't share the same beliefs as you do. It comes off as hypocritical. Like I said before, you are free to believe in whatever you want. However, it's important to treat others with dignity and respect, regardless of who they are. I don't care how many Bible verses you can recite. I care about how you're treating people in general. You don't have to agree with someone's same-sex relationship or marriage, but having a kind heart is the way to go. You can be proud to be straight, and be a LGBT ally. Let those people know that you support them. I've been out of the closet for over seven years and many people, including my friends, siblings, and relatives, support and love me unconditionally. I have a wonderful fiancé that I love very much, and plan on marrying. LGBT people aren't taking your rights away. They just want to be treated equally and fairly. Love overcomes hate every time, and everyone deserves to be protected and live prosperous lives. So my last piece of advice to you, straight people: choose love and treat everyone you meet with kindness.

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