6-29-06, 9:14 am
The month of June has been designated as Pride Month in celebration of the struggles and achievements of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people in the United States. This coming weekend marks the anniversary of the uprising that occurred at the Stonewall Inn on June 27, 1969, in New York City. The uprising, in response to bar raids and attacks by the police, was led by working-class gay and transgender people, many of whom were Black or Latino, and became a rallying point for LGBT people in the United States and around the world.
Every year since, LGBT people and their allies have been holding parades and rallies to highlight the discrimination that LGBT people face and to struggle forward for equality and liberation.
In 2006, we still have a long ways to go. This year marks the 25th year of the HIV/AIDS epidemic. Today, millions of people are still denied access to life-saving drugs and medical help because of profit-driven drug corporations. In our schools, the ultra-right and religious conservatives deny students access to scientifically accurate sex education while more young people are becoming infected with HIV every year.
In our schools, in our workplaces and in our streets, LGBT people are faced with discrimination, hatred and violence.
Last week Kevin Aviance, a famous gay performer, was attacked and beaten in what is considered a “gay friendly” area in NYC. In Moscow, 50 LGBT people were arrested for attempting to hold the city’s first-ever Gay Pride Parade. In Australia, the president overturned a law that would allow same-sex marriage and the conservative government now in power in Canada is also seeking to overturn its law that allows gay marriage.
Here at home, Bush and the ultra-right continue to push the anti-gay button in order to drum up support in the 2006 elections. Just as in 2004, Bush is using gay marriage as a rallying cry for his conservative base that has started to turn against him because of his disastrous handling of the Iraq war and domestic issues.
We at the Communist Party USA and the Young Communist League USA stand in solidarity with our LGBT brothers and sisters in the fight for full equality. We demand an end to the violence and discrimination against LGBT people in our schools, workplaces and communities. We will be marching, rallying and celebrating this weekend in Pride Parades across the country and invite all readers of the People’s Weekly World to join us in the struggle for LGBT equality.
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