June is LGBT Pride Month. In many cities across the U.S., Pride celebrations are planned throughout the month. Many smaller cities and towns in recent years have also started to host annual celebrations.
Earlier this month, several thousand Southwest Florida locals and visitors attended the second Naples Pride celebration. It was an amazing show of solidarity and support for our lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) community. Planning is now underway for the 10th SWFL Pride celebration that will be hosted Oct. 6 in Fort Myers.
Today, there is far greater acceptance for LGBT people than existed nearly 50 years ago when the first Pride celebrations were organized following the Stonewall riots in New York City.
In the decades since Stonewall, millions of LGBT people have come out in all aspects of our lives – to our families and neighbors, in our workplaces, and in our places of worship – to find acceptance.
This month, we celebrate the anniversary for one of the most significant of these achievements, when three years ago the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in favor of marriage equality for same-sex couples nationwide.
Unfortunately, efforts to undermine the marriage equality ruling, and LGBT rights generally, have been underway in many states by individuals and groups who remain opposed to same-sex relationships and the expansion of civil rights for LGBT people.
The most recent example is the Masterpiece Cakeshop case, where the Supreme Court ruled this month in favor of a baker in Colorado who cited a religious objection by refusing to sell a cake for the wedding of a same-sex couple. Although the decision in this case was based on a procedural issue, the ruling leaves mostly unanswered the question it was expected to address: For businesses that serve the public in states where civil rights protections exist for LGBT people, can business owners exempt themselves from these laws by merely citing a religious objection?
For any couple, planning a wedding is a time for celebration. But for many same-sex couples, it requires us to begin each conversation with wedding planners, cake makers, photographers and others by asking first if they are comfortable to do business with a same-sex couple. Most other couples never consider the possibility they could be rejected simply because of who they are.
The Masterpiece case also underscores the reality there still is no federal law to protect individuals from discrimination in employment and public services on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity. In the absence of federal legislation, many states, cities and municipalities have expanded civil rights laws to include sexual orientation and gender identity as protected classes alongside age, race, sex and religion.
Unfortunately, Florida is not yet among these states, and neither Lee County or Collier County have enacted LGBT-inclusive civil rights ordinances like many other Florida counties have passed.
However, things continue to slowly, but surely, look up for LGBT equality and visibility in Southwest Florida.
For example, many employers in Southwest Florida already recognize the importance of attracting diverse workforce talent by providing LGBT-inclusive workplace policies, including large companies such as Hertz, Chico’s and Arthrex.
With destination weddings serving as a major economic and tourism driver in the region, both the Lee County Visitor & Convention Bureau and Collier County Convention & Visitors Bureau recently unveiled new marketing campaigns that include same-sex couples in these agencies’ destination wedding advertisements.
Community organizations are also stepping up to support the needs of the LGBT community. The LGBT Community Fund, a fund of the Southwest Florida Community Foundation, is now in its third year providing grants to local non-profit organizations developing programs to support the unique needs of the area’s LGBT population, including assisted living care for LGBT seniors and LGBT youth empowerment.
For the LGBT community and our allies, Pride is more than a celebration. It is about showing up with courage every day, in moments that are both comfortable and difficult, to support acceptance and equality for all people. Today, the need to defend these values is more important than ever.
Jason Boeckman is a board member of Pride SWFL. Cori Craciun is president of Naples Pride. Arlene Goldberg is the founder of SWFL Harmony Chamber of Commerce, the area’s first business chamber for LGBT-owned businesses and business allies.