As you might imagine, the timing was tricky for this edition of CL’s annual Pride Issue.
At first we thought we might get lucky: The Supreme Court would issue its decision on same-sex marriage before our pub date, allowing us to lose all the conditional language (“At press time…,” “As the community awaits a decision…,” “With the country on the cusp…”) — and go into full-on, definitive celebratory mode.
But noooo… Last we heard, the smart money was on June 29, or maybe the decision was issued June 25 and the news has already broken as you read this.
[UPDATE: ON FRIDAY JUNE 26 THE SUPREME COURT ISSUED A DECISION MAKING SAME-SEX MARRIAGE LEGAL IN ALL 50 STATES. SO CONSIDER US IN FULL-ON, DEFINITIVE CELEBRATORY MODE. WE WON! And by we, I mean everybody who believes in the ideals this country was founded upon. To quote Justice Anthony Kennedy's majority opinion, "The Constitution promises liberty to all within its reach, a liberty that includes certain specific rights that allow persons, within a lawful realm, to define and express their identity." Justice Antonin Scalia, responding to this statement, said it made him want to hide his head in a bag. If only.]
But whatever happens with the Supremes, there’s plenty of news that’s worth waving a flag for, whether you prefer the vintage rainbow model or the ol’ Stars ’n Stripes outside Independence Hall in Philly. As Tiffany Razzano points out in her LGBT year in review, the milestones just kept coming, from the victory for marriage equality in Florida to the defeat of the “gay panic” defense in California. Just reading the achievements of St. Pete Pride’s Grand Marshals (Ashley Brundage, Nick Janovsky, Stonewall Democrats and, full disclosure, my husband, Larry Biddle) makes you feel all flush with, well, Pride.
(For all the details on this year’s St. Pete Pride festivities, check out the special supplement at the center of this week's online E-dition of CL, or find it in the print edition.)
Even if the fight for marriage equality is successful, the fight for full LGBT equality is far from over, Nadine Smith reminds us.
And even though sexual orientation seems to have become a non-issue in local electoral politics, the haters are still out there.
Case in point:
Our marketing department sent out a newsletter inviting businesses to run ads in this issue, and got an ugly email reply that concluded with this warning:
“God says you will burn in hell for this shit and I hope that you do.”
We think we’ve identified the sender, though we couldn’t confirm at press time whether this was an ironic send-up of homophobia or the sincere, threatening variety. We hope for the former, but suspect the latter.
So yes, marriage may win, but vigilance is all.
And, as many of us will proclaim loudly and proudly this weekend, the best defense is love.
—David Warner
This article appears in Jun 25 – Jul 1, 2015.