Jenn and I were in Orting, WA earlier today and passed by Washington Soldiers’ Home Cemetery during our drive. We stopped to visit and found graves for veterans of both World Wars, as well as the Spanish-American War–something I had never seen before.
As we were wrapping up our visit, we noticed the Medal of Honor memorial near the entrance. This memorial honors four veterans who were awarded the Medal of Honor for their courage during the Civil War. These four Civil War veterans are actually interred in this cemetery in rural Pierce County. They are honored for standing up for the humanity, the personhood, the freedom, the dignity of enslaved people at great risk to themselves.
It was deeply meaningful and a fitting transition from Military Appreciation Month to Pride Month to encounter this memorial today as the humanity, personhood, dignity, and very existence of people I care about is threatened by those in power and cheered on by too many.
Pride Month celebrates the culture and contributions of the LGBTQ+ community as well as the anniversary of the riots and protests at Stonewall. While much progress has been made–there is still far to go until all of our queer siblings can live their lives as out and proud as their straight cisgender neighbors do.
This struggle for LGBTQ+ rights started with people standing together against attempts at erasure, but attempts to erase queer people, transgender and gender diverse people in particular continue (for example, compare the website for Stonewall National Park as archived on January 19, 2025 to the version that is live now. Notice the removal of references to transgender individuals) through bathrooms bans, gender care bans, “don’t say gay” laws, book bans, etc.
We have also seen attempts to separate the fight for equality of trans individuals from the rest of the lesbian, gay, and bisexual community by creating division through mean-spirited misinformation and bias.
This Pride Month is a reminder that allies must continue to push back against discrimination and hate. We must be loud when we call out hate. We must be firm in our support of laws that protect the dignity and equality of the LGBTQ+ community.
To my queer family and friends:
You are seen. You matter. You are loved.
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