It is that time of year again in Puerto Vallarta- Gay Pride. There are many public and private celebrations planed around town. Perhaps you will participate in the popular pet parade, the Pride parade, and/or the big block party! In a very gay friendly and touristy beach town, such as Puerto Vallarta, Gay Pride has become a national and international destination fiesta for both the well-heeled partier and those seeking camaraderie with the kind of openness not possible in communities where being out has severe negative consequences.
LGBTQ Pride Parade-Canva
Democrats Abroad Costa Banderas celebrates Gay pride with you because having and showing pride in who you are in the LGBTQ community is important to your physical and mental health and the physical and mental health of society in general. We also know that having this place and this moment in time where Gay Pride is celebrated did not just evolve.
The parades of today began as marches commemorating the resistance to a police raid June 28, 1969, at the Stonewall Inn located in New York City’s Greenwich Village. Raids of gay bars were common at the time across the U.S. and elsewhere. So-called “anti-sodomy” laws criminalized homosexual relations. Individuals could be and were fired from their work, denied loans, denied housing, denied services, and were incarcerated for a homosexual act or even being suspected of being homosexual. Even after the U.S. Supreme Court abolished these laws in Lawrence v. Texas in 2003, discrimination based on sexual orientation remained legal. In 2020 the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in Bostock v. Clayton County that job discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity is illegal under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.
Understanding the history that got us here is important because you can see how tenuous the gains are. For example, two of the six justices voting to affirm protection from job discrimination in Bostock have been replaced by Trump appointees. Politics that put Trump and Republicans in power has resulted in partisan court stacking. It is easy not only to imagine, but also to anticipate this current SCOTUS rehearing a similar job discrimination case with now a 5-4 majority ruling no protection for being fired because of a person’s sexual orientation. More concerning is that all five of the justices who voted to abolish anti-sodomy laws have been replaced. The legal existence of LGBTQ+ is political by nature but more so today as Republican appointed majority courts affirm ruling after ruling strictly following their political appointments. Fighting fire with fire requires having political strength as well as the diligent advocacy.
To reiterate the point: Gay Pride celebrations of today originated as political protests against systemic oppression. Brave people within the LGBTQ+ communities and our allies organized and participated in those protests. They also took the next important steps by organizing gay political caucuses in cities across the U.S. They registered voters, trained campaign workers, met with candidates and political leaders. The at first down-low support for LGBT rights were pushed by activists to became public endorsements with candidates and elected officials sponsoring pro-rights ordinances and legislation and marching and riding in Pride events, including the parades. They took public stands that were unpopular at the time and even dangerous to take.
Harvey Milk was a gay activist who became the first openly gay man to be elected to public office in California. During Milk's almost eleven months as a San Francisco Supervisor, he sponsored a bill banning discrimination based on sexual orientation in public accommodations, housing, and employment. The Supervisors passed the bill by a vote of 11–1 and Mayor George Moscone signed it into law in March, 1978. On November 27, Milk and Moscone were assassinated by Dan White, a former city Supervisor who was the sole vote against Milk's bill. Make no mistake, this was a political assassination! It is worth noting that Dan White was only sentenced to seven years and eight months in prison for gunning down Milk and Moscone. White was released on parole after just five years. It is fair to consider if the sentencing instructions from Judge Walter F. Calcagno, appointed by then Governor Ronald Reagan, were also politically influenced.
Harvey Milk (left) meeting with San Francisco Mayor George Moscone for the signing of the city's gay rights bill, April 1977. STF/AP/REX/Shutterstock.com
It took decades of political work from the gay political caucuses across the U.S., pioneer politicians such as Milk and civil rights activist Bayard Rustin, and grass roots political groups such as Act Up to lay the groundwork for leaders such as Annise Parker (former mayor of Houston 2010-2016 and current Harris County Judge candidate). Today we have three governors (Jared Polis of CO, Maura Healey of MA, Tina Kotek of OR), one U.S. Senator (Tammy Baldwin of WI), and 12 U.S. Representatives. Of course, Pete Buttigieg remains prominent after serving in President Joe Biden’s cabinet. They are all Democrats!
Despite this progress, the surge from the political right has been effective in passing legislation banning LGBTQ speech and expression in art and nullifying legal status for those who have or who are in the process of transitioning genders. Courts have reversed anti-discrimination protections and allow businesses to choose whom to provide services based on their sexual orientation. A “very proud” Oath Keeper is among the leading candidates for governor of California, although he says that he is no longer a member. You may recall this far-right militia group from their participation in the January 6, 2021, attack on our Capitol. You may also recall the group for their anti-LGBTQ actions, such as offering to protect the Kentucky clerk who refused to issue same-sex marriage licenses despite the SCOTUS 2015 ruling in Obergefell v. Hodges that the fundamental right to marry is guaranteed to same-sex couples by both the Due Process Clause and the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution. Three of the five judges in the majority have been replaced- two appointed by Trump.
Even on the precipice of losing our rights to the political right, many today claim to be averse to politics. It is understandable to react negatively to crowds at rallies chanting “lock her up” and speakers mocking the disabled and advocating for violence toward protesters. However, condemning all politics equally because of the abuse of one side is like condemning both Russia and The Ukraine for the war started by and perpetrated by Putin and Russia. Perhaps those who are disillusioned and/or uninterested in politics have not had their rights, their livelihoods, and/or their freedoms attacked. Bodily autonomy and women’s health care were gutted in 2022 when the SCOTUS overturned Roe v. Wade in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, eliminating the 50-year-old federal constitutional right to abortion. The Voting Rights Act of 1964 had been passed to counter “cracking and packing” that prevented Black voting strength to elect representation during Jim Crow in The South. Just weeks ago, the SCOTUS gutted that law in Louisiana v. Callais. Political gerrymandering is expanded to include diluting Black voting strength below this constituency’s ability to choose their representation. Even in Louisiana where 1/3 of its citizens are black, two black majority districts (out of six) are too many for the government. Louisiana's Republican majority legislature is currently working to redraw the congressional map to eliminate one or possibly both Black majority districts.
Pride parades are fun. They also can serve as powerful tools to assert our right to equality under the law and to demand safety in a world where LGBTQ existence is sometimes debated and oppressed. As you enjoy your Gay Pride events, also show pride for the political activists that got us here and for those who will be necessary defending our long and hard-earned Legal Rights. Pete Buttigieg recently explained that his kids keep him focused on making positive change: ”what am I gonna do when they say, ‘Papa, back in the 2020s, did you do enough?’ They’re gonna ask that, and I want to make sure we have a very good answer by the time they’re old enough to ask that question.”
Pete Buttigieg speaks at a rally at the Statehouse in Indianapolis on Thursday, Sept. 18, 2025. | Michael Conroy/AP
How about you? How will you answer this question? Please make your plans to vote. Make sure your friends have their plans and that we all vote like our lives depend on it. Research joining a Gay Political Caucus and/or volunteering for a phone bank or canvasing. Be able to be proud of your political activism. Let’s be proud of who we are and our politics.