[BwayDems] Fwd: The Power of Pride in Troubled Times 🌈 ☀ 💖

[Paula Diamond Roman]

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Dear Friends and Neighbors,
 
Happy Pride! In a normal year, I would be spending today marching in the NYC Pride March. But of course, this is not a normal year.  
 
It may seem strange to say “Happy Pride” in the middle of all the upheaval in our lives and the world right now. From pandemic to police violence to systemic racism, our communities are struggling to take on complex and urgent issues. But LGBTQ Pride has always been about defiant celebration. In a world telling gay people to blend in and be quiet, on Pride, we stand out and shine brighter than ever. The LGBTQ community has proclaimed our Pride in years past through divisive politics, plague, and police violence. After all, “Pride” began as a riot at the Stonewall Inn against police brutality. As our City and Nation confront these deep systemic issues anew, the LGBTQ community will do what we have always done: rally, dance, and fight for the better world we know is possible.
 
When my legislation making gay marriage legal in New York State became law just nine short years ago, it ushered in a new age of LGBTQ progress. Since then, marriage equality went nationwide, New York passed landmark anti-bullying legislation protecting LGBTQ youth, transgender New Yorkers have been added to the Human Rights protected classes, and just last year, New York passed my bill ending “gay/trans panic defenses", ensuring that someone’s gender identity or orientation could never be used as an excuse for violence against them. 
 
And yet, the fight continues. We continue to fight for our transgender family. For gay kids to grow up in a safer world. For Layleen Polanco, a trans woman who died last year on Rikers Island when correction officers failed to give her medical attention. For our trans family in Idaho, who are being subjected to bigoted legislation, prompting my call to ban nonessential travel, as we have when other states passed hateful laws. For trans people of color murdered across the nation, like Nina Pop and Tony McDade. And for LGBTQ New Yorkers who still face hate and discrimination in ways great in small. Today, celebrating Pride means continuing these fights, and many more.
 
And so, in spite of all these challenges, we say: Happy Pride! However you are celebrating today – through protest, dancing in your room, or spending time with a loved one – be strong, be joyful, and be you! That alone is a fight worth winning, and makes the world a better place.
 
Stay Safe, and Stay Proud,
 
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|  At last year's Pride March, standing in front of the Stonewall Winn with my husband, John  |

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|  Paid for by Friends of Daniel O'Donnell

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