When Donald Trump ran for president, he said he would embrace the gay community. At the Republican Convention, he promised he would "do everything in my power to protect our LGBTQ citizens." At a campaign event, he held a rainbow flag. (Sure, it was upside down, but the gesture counts). He even directly thanked them in a tweet, claiming, "I will fight for you while Hillary brings in more people that will threaten your freedoms and beliefs."
However, last year Trump's White House totally ignored Pride Month, an annual celebration of the LGBTQ community. Now we're six days into June, and he has failed to acknowledge Pride Month for the second year in a row. However, his White House has found time to declare June 2018 Great Outdoors Month, National Caribbean-American Heritage Month, National Ocean Month, National Home Ownership Month, and African-American Music Appreciation Month.
During Pride Month, people express their support for LGBTQ citizens, commemorate their history, and throw wild, glittery rainbow-colored parades. The tradition dates back to the early 1970's, when it began as a response to the Stonewall Riots.
The Stonewall Inn was a gay bar in Manhattan, one of the few venues that welcomed openly homosexual customers. It was a literal safe space where the community could hang out without suffering harassment - for a while, anyway. At the time, gay bars were subject to raids by police officers, which were occasionally abusive.
On June 28, 1969, authorities raided the Stonewall Inn. Believing they were treated unfairly, the outraged customers fought back. The officers lost control. Violence erupted. Protests were organized. Activist groups formed. It was the last straw, a tipping point in history, the beginning of the fight for LGBTQ rights.
On June 28, 1970, the first gay pride marches took place in San Francisco, New York City and Chicago. The goal was to commemorate the Stonewall Riots, and this ballooned into the Pride Month that we celebrate today. Of course, Donald Trump is not the first president to ignore the tradition. George W. Bush also failed to acknowledge Pride. Meanwhile, Barack Obama's White House honored the celebration every June. Bill Clinton became the first president to recognize Pride in 2000. (It is unfortunate that LGBTQ rights has become a partisan issue.)
On social media, nobody's surprised by Trump's decision. Since taking office, the Trump administration has attempted to ban transgender soldiers from the military, rolled back regulations to protect LGBTQ workers, and created a "religious liberty devision" to defend healthcare workers with religious objections from treating LGBTQ patients. But although people aren't surprised, they're still upset.
2016 was so long ago It's almost like he was lying But they're not going anywhereThe Rainbow House
Yes, historically, the White House ignored Pride for many years, but stillIn fact, rather then acknowledge Pride Month, President Trump celebrated a polarizing Supreme Court decision. In Colorado, a baker refused to make a wedding cake for a same-sex couple, claiming that doing so would violate his religious freedom as a Christian. In a narrow ruling, the Supreme Court sided with the baker over the gay couple.
Well, June's not over yet. Time will tell if President Trump will acknowledge Pride Month, or continue to disappoint the LGBTQ community.
