By Stuart Gaffney and John Lewis–
On Friday evening of Pride weekend, we were seated on a BART train, decked out in our activist tuxes and rainbow bow ties on our way to celebrate the lighting of Illuminate’s spectacular rainbow pride laser show at the Ferry Building. 2024 marks the 20th anniversary of San Francisco’s historic Winter of Love when our city upheld the Constitution and defied state law to open the doors of City Hall for LGBTIQ couples to marry. To mark the occasion, twenty ever-changing lasers encompassing all the mixes of colors that represent our diverse community lit up the night sky Pride weekend, creating the world’s largest rainbow flag, stretching over four miles.
When we arrived at the Powell Station, a man got on board with his young teen child, sporting a trans flag on his backpack. We immediately complimented the teen on displaying the trans colors prominently. They and their father smiled broadly, and we struck up a friendly conversation. Of course, they were coming from the annual Trans March, which was also celebrating its twentieth anniversary. And just before we entered the Embarcadero Station, we quickly had the chance to tell them about the Illuminate rainbow flag extravaganza. We hopped off the train, and they continued on to the East Bay. It was a wonderful chance encounter that was the perfect way to kick off Pride weekend.
It’s an understatement to say that there’s been a lot going on lately just before and just after Pride weekend. The Monday after Pride, the conservative Republican majority on the Supreme Court granted former President Trump, in the words of dissenting Justice Sonia Sotomayor, “all the immunity [from criminal prosecution] he asked for and more.” Writing for the three more liberal Justices on the Court, Sotomayor opined that the majority’s decision “makes a mockery of the principle … that no man is above the law” and predicted that it “will have disastrous consequences for the Presidency and for our democracy.”
And on Monday of Pride Week, the Supreme Court announced that it will decide next term whether state bans on gender-affirming healthcare for transgender adolescents—even when the youth, their parents, and their medical providers all consider the care medically necessary—violate the U.S. Constitution. The stakes could not be higher for our community. If the Court follows its own recent precedent as well as basic equal protection principles, it should rule in favor of transgender youth.
But according to Chase Strangio, Deputy Director for Transgender Justice at the ACLU’s LGBTQ & HIV Project, “the future of countless transgender youth in this and future generations” hangs in the balance. Strangio added that these types of laws enacted in 25 conservative states “are the result of an openly political effort to wage war on a marginalized group and our most fundamental freedoms.” This cynical political strategy on the part of Republican lawmakers has served to further divide our fractured nation.
In the massive and magnificent Sunday Pride Parade, we were honored to transport the iconic Rainbow Torch down Market Street as part of the San Francisco Bay Times always-fabulous contingent. Attired again in our activist tuxes, we waved from atop our vehicle decorated in pink hearts to celebrate the Winter of Love’s 20th anniversary, wishing everyone lining Market Street “Happy Pride” at the top of our lungs as we went by.
At one point, we noticed a middle-aged man in the crowd, grinning from ear to ear as he jumped up and down, waving and yelling to try to get our attention. We wondered who in the world the person was and why they wanted our attention so badly. Then it dawned on us.
It was our new friend from Friday’s BART train, once again accompanying his wonderful teenage trans child. All of our eyes met, sparking a connection more powerful than rainbow laser beams emanating from the Ferry Building Friday night. We all smiled broadly and shouted in delight at our second chance encounter.
With all that’s going on that will profoundly affect our nation and our lives, speaking up and connecting with each other must not stop on Pride weekend. It’s time for all of us in the LGBTIQ community and indeed all those who care about democracy to stand up and shout and organize. The health and well-being of trans teens like our new-found friend and the right of parents, like that teen’s exuberant middle-aged dad, to support their trans kids are on the line at the Supreme Court this fall. And democracy itself will be on the ballot in November.
Let’s raise our voices together with Pride in every way imaginable to make a difference.
John Lewis and Stuart Gaffney, together for over three decades, were plaintiffs in the California case for equal marriage rights decided by the California Supreme Court in 2008. Their leadership in the grassroots organization Marriage Equality USA contributed in 2015 to making same-sex marriage legal nationwide.
6/26 and Beyond
Published on July 11, 2024
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