LGBT Pride Month offers historical reflection

Courtesy Photo | The Defense Contract Management Agency is hosting multiple Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Pride Month events throughout June, celebrating current and historical LGBT equality efforts and pride. As one example, the Equal Employment Opportunity office will host Virginia Lamneck, Equality Virginia’s program director, as part of its LGBT Pride Month celebration June 30.  

FORT LEE, VA, UNITED STATES

06.16.2016

Story by Thomas Perry 

Defense Contract Management Agency

The Defense Contract Management Agency Equal Employment Opportunity office will host Virginia Lamneck, Equality Virginia’s program director, as part of its Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Pride Month celebration June 30 at the DCMA headquarters River’s Bend office at 10 a.m.

According to its website, Equality Virginia — founded in 1989 as Virginians for Justice — is a statewide, nonpartisan education, outreach and advocacy organization seeking equality for LGBT Virginians.

“Oftentimes, the general public does not realize that transgender people are just like everyone else,” Lamneck said in a May 2016 Richmond Times-Dispatch article. “Transgender people live and work in our communities — they are doctors, cashiers, teachers, city council members, chefs, writers, artists, IT professionals and electricians. Transgender people serve in the military, have children, pay bills, run marathons and are active in their faith communities. Everyone has a gender identity, and a person’s gender identity is just one aspect of what makes a person who they are.”

This event is just one example of events that will be celebrated across the agency as team members gather to celebrate current and historical LGBT equality efforts and pride.

According to the Library of Congress, LGBT Pride Month is currently celebrated each year during the month of June to honor the 1969 Stonewall riots in Manhattan, New York. The Stonewall riots are considered a tipping point for the gay liberation movement in the United States.

“Stonewall marked the first time that gays and lesbians as a group forcefully and vocally asserted their rights to equality under the law,” explains the National Park Service on its diversity website.

On June 2, 2000, former President Bill Clinton issued Proclamation No. 7316 officially designating the first LGBT-related pride month. “This June, recognizing the joys and sorrows that the gay and lesbian movement has witnessed and the work that remains to be done, we observe Gay and Lesbian Pride Month and celebrate the progress we have made in creating a society more inclusive and accepting of gays and lesbians.”

While the group’s historical struggle toward equality has been at times contentious, the LGBT’s federal and military contributions are reinforced by current leaders.

“Throughout our history, brave LGBT soldiers, sailors, airmen, Coast Guardsmen and Marines have served and fought for our nation,” said Defense Secretary Ash Carter. “Their readiness and willingness to serve has made our military stronger and our nation safer.”

President Barack Obama examined both past and present in his 2016 LGBT Pride Month presidential proclamation.

“Since our founding, America has advanced on an unending path toward becoming a more perfect union. This journey, led by forward-thinking individuals who have set their sights on reaching for a brighter tomorrow, has never been easy or smooth. The fight for dignity and equality for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people is reflected in the tireless dedication of advocates and allies who strive to forge a more inclusive society.”

• Date Taken: 06.16.2016
• Date Posted: 06.16.2016 10:54
• Story ID: 201366
• Location: FORT LEE, VA, US