June is Pride Month, and on Saturday, June 1st I will be walking at the SoJo Summerfest Parade in South Jordan. On Sunday, June 2nd I will be walking with the Salt Lake County Democrats at the Utah Pride Parade in Salt Lake City. From a rainbow of colors, I will (quite obviously) be wearing green. On the first day we celebrate the city and our community, and on the second we celebrate and defend the people who are part of our community. There is a subtle and important difference between these two days. On the first day we show pride for our home, and on the second, we show pride for our community.
The Pride March started one year after the 1969 Stonewall Riots, and was created as a remembrance and solemn defense of identity. In the fifty years since then, the march has evolved to advocate for, educate about and celebrate the LGBTQIA+ community. According to the Pew Research Center, some 7% of Americans are lesbian, gay or bisexual, and the number is higher for our youth because culture is changing, and because younger generations are more comfortable talking about sex and gender. Nearly 10% of youth ages 18-24 identified as LGBTQIA+. This is why advocacy is so important – in recent years the US Dept of Justice reports that in Utah the number of hate crimes against people due to sexual orientation has increased six-fold between 2020 and 2022. Recent legislation has unjustly inflamed and polarized gender identity and sexual orientation issues. In Utah our LGBTQIA+ youth face discrimination, health access, mental health issues, homelessness, and suicide as significant risks.
I believe that we build UNITY in COMMUNITY. We do this by being visible, supporting our neighbors, by creating safe spaces, by respecting and celebrating our differences, and by standing together.
Legislatively, I will work to protect our individual rights. You can see my stances on DEI, LGBTQIA+ rights, healthcare, and education at https://utah44.com/issues/.
Resources
- The Trevor Project: https://www.thetrevorproject.org
- American Foundation for Suicide Prevention: https://afsp.org/
- Equality Utah: https://www.equalityutah.org/
- Encircle Utah: https://encircletogether.org/
- Mama Dragons: https://www.mamadragons.org/
- Project Rainbow Utah: https://www.projectrainbowutah.org/
- PFLAG Salt Lake City: https://pflag.org/chapter/salt-lake-city/
- LOVELOUD Foundation: https://loveloudfest.com/whowehelp
- YWCA Utah: https://www.ywcautah.org/advocacy
- Planned Parenthood: https://www.plannedparenthood.org/get-care/our-services/gender-affirming-care
- ACLU: https://www.aclu.org/legislative-attacks-on-lgbtq-rights-2024?state=UT (Discriminatory Utah legislation tracked by the ACLU.)
You’re invited to come and celebrate on both days. Register at https://utah44.com/get-involved/ if you want to be involved with the campaign.
https://utah44.com/find-unity-in-your-community/
I look forward to hearing from you.