California has become the first state to legally declare June as LGBTQ+ Pride Month.
The Advocate reports: on Monday, CA Governor Jerry Brown signed the bill, AB 2969, into law. It goes into effect on Jan. 1, 2019, and requires the governor to make the proclamation of June as Pride Month every year. The bill was written by California State Assembly member Evan Low. He said in a statement:
“California has the largest LGBT population of any state in the union, and the state is home to over 40 LGBT Pride celebrations each year. I want to thank Governor Brown for adding Pride to the list of celebrations codified in statute.”
The world’s first legally permitted Pride parade was in Los Angeles on June 28, 1970 a year after the Stonewall riots in New York.
Ever since then, Pride gradually become a more widely recognized celebrated occasion—with the glaring, infuriating exception of Trump’s White House failing to recognize it, after Barack Obama’s administration did every year he was in office.
Equality California executive director Rick Zbur said this in a statement:
“In the face of a president who refuses to recognize Pride Month, we're deeply grateful to Governor Brown, Assembly Member Low, and the entire LGBT Caucus for recognizing the LGBTQ community’s role in California and California’s role in the LGBTQ civil rights movement.”
AB 2969 was supported by the Los Angeles LGBT Center and Equality California, and coauthored by all members of the California Legislative LGBT Caucus. Note: California is the first country in the nation with an official caucus of LGBTQ+ legislators. Evan Low, a Democrat from Silicon Valley, is chairman.
h/t: The Advocate
h/t: History