Pride month is important to be celebrated everywhere. It is when the LGBTQ+ gather to demonstrate they are not ashamed and want to celebrate who they are. By showing acceptance it allows people to be more open about their sexuality and feel more comfortable with themselves.  

Pride month was established in June 1999 after many riots towards the injustice of “being different.” Pride month initially was for just the gays and lesbians but in 2011 it expanded to include the whole LGBTQ+ community.  

The LGBTQ+ community stands for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, intersex, and asexual. This community has built up over time, as the need to stand up to homophobia has become better understood. Pride month is a time to celebrate, but also to protest inequality and address the lack of understanding. to gain the same respect as any other person. 

Being able to celebrate Pride month was long awaited. For decades gays were derided and judged for their sexuality and seen as disgusting or weird just because of their preferences.  

It took Steve Johnson 35 years to get justice for the manslaughter of his brother, but the Australian man who punched Scott Johnson off a cliff in 1988 and killed him for his sexuality was just sentenced to nine years in prison. “Steve Johnson’s campaign for his brother helped trigger a state government inquiry into historic police indifference toward gay hate crimes and more than 100 unsolved deaths from the mid-1980s until the early 1990s,” NBC News reported. 

Although Pride month has become a universal celebration, there are still countries that prohibit people from being homosexual (sexually or romantically attracted exclusively to people of one’s own sex or gender). For instance, many countries in Africa, some in middle east, Asia, and Australia have harsh penalties for consensual same-sex sexual acts. 

Nowadays people have eased up about the LGBTQ community and they are gaining the respect they rightfully deserve. During the month of Pride many people march, not only people that are part of the LGBTQ+ but also people that want to stop the prejudice towards them.