Another Pride season has arrived and there is so much to celebrate.  Legislatures across the country are enacting state anti-discrimination statutes and laws to provide legal protections to people in same-sex relationships. 

So far, 20 states have laws that expressly prohibit discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and 12 expressly prohibit gender identity discrimination. There is now only one state where same-sex couples can legally marry, but an additional nine states where many legal protections are available through civil unions or domestic partnerships. Government officials in two states have also said they will honor valid marriages of same-sex couples from other states or countries.

What is most amazing about the legal protections for same-sex relationships is that none of them existed just seven years ago.  Lambda Legal’s groundbreaking litigation helped to secure and set the stage for these remarkable advances.  Together with our partners, we are moving history forward — and moving quickly.

We are proud, but there are still plenty of challenges ahead to keep us fired up.  There are still more states that do not have specific laws against LGBT discrimination than states that do, and many more states where there are no protections for people in same-sex relationships.  LGBT people and people with HIV face discrimination and legal barriers in other parts of their lives, whether they are raising children, attending school, seeking health care, serving in the military or buying a home. 

Good laws are vital but they are not the end of the story.  They are the tools we use to protect people and fight for our real goal — full equality.

For example, Lambda Legal recently filed a lawsuit against Countrywide, the self described “America’s #1 home loan lender,” on behalf of a lesbian couple.  When Laura Watts moved in with Adola DeWolf, they filled out the papers to add Watts’ name to the mortgage.  The mortgage company told them that it would not recognize them as a family and then sought full repayment of the loan.  It turned out that Countrywide was not on their side, but Lambda Legal was.  We are suing the mortgage company for discrimination under the federal Equal Credit Opportunity Act, which prohibits discrimination on the basis of marital status. 

I have been part of the LGBT civil rights movement long enough to remember early Pride marches when we had none of the laws we have today.  When we first marched, there were no state laws prohibiting discrimination against lesbians and gay men, and no laws that protected transgender people.  We barely even imagined, then, that our relationships and families would be recognized under the law and that there would be any state where we could legally marry.  The world has changed — and we changed it by showing our pride, making our case in the courts and making our lives visible.   

And while some of us have been to many Pride events, each year is the first time for many others.  Young and old people who are just coming out; family members who join their LGBT children, sisters or brothers for the first time; transgender people who are transitioning; people who travel to a new place to feel safe; friends, advocates and allies who come to show their support — there are thousands of stories and reasons why people come to Pride.  When we all come together, we make change happen.

Happy Pride, from all of us at Lambda Legal to you.  We have a lot to make us proud, but we have a lot more work to do.  Come out, speak up, get active, create change, have fun.  We hope to see you there!