“Same-sex couples are consigned to an instability many opposite-sex couples would deem intolerable in their own lives. As the State itself makes marriage all the more precious by the significance it attaches to it, exclusion from that status has the effect of teaching that gays and lesbians are unequal in important respects. It demeans gays and lesbians for the State to lock them out of a central institution of the Nation’s society.” ~ From the Majority Opinion in Obergefell v. Hodges
This is a very special Pride Month, as June 26 will mark the 10th anniversary of the landmark Supreme Court decision that made same-sex marriage legal throughout the United States.
Remembering that remarkable, and welcome, decision took me back to another day many decades ago when my mother and I were discussing her recent trip to visit close family in another state. She confessed to me that she had been disturbed by the anti-gay sentiments that some family members had expressed.
I was disappointed to hear that, but pleased that my mother was so open-minded on this issue. She even revealed that she was sure that one of our late male relatives had been a closeted gay person. I was a young straight woman who had a number of gay and lesbian friends and acquaintances and felt strongly about their rights and freedoms.
My mom and I spent the ensuing few hours talking about the many contributions gay people had made to American as well as global societies throughout history, in the arts and entertainment, science, medicine, government service, and more. We started naming those famous gay people and before we knew it we were making a list — a long list.
So, to celebrate Pride Month and the anniversary of the Obergefell decision, I have once again made a list of (for the most part) openly LGBTQ+ people who have made important contributions to civilization, from historic to modern times:
Baron Friedrich von Steuben, John E. Fryer, Lili Elbe, Alan Turing, Christine Jorgensen, Johnny Mathis, James Baldwin, Marsha P. Johnson, Rock Hudson, Angela Davis, Harvey Milk, Larry Kramer, Edith Windsor, Billie Jean King, Harvey Fierstein, Ian McKellen, Jodie Foster, Simon Nkoli, Chaz Bono, Ellen DeGeneres, Elton John, Melissa Etheridge, Sally Ride, RuPaul, Jóhanna Sigurðardóttir, Tammy Baldwin, Tim Cook, Cynthia Nixon, Rodney Wilson, Elliot Page, Jim Obergefell
This is a very short list, and I invite additions! Meanwhile, Happy Pride Month, and many, many more!
Until next time,
Jeanne
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Jeanne Nelson 
Thank you for another powerful and important post, Jeanne. The absolute truth is that our strength lies in our glorious diversity, not our sameness.
Rooting you on,
Bonnie
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Thank you, as always, Bonnie!
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Thank you, Wendy. You are right; we have a long way to go; together we can get there!
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Thanks for sharing. Great article or blog. Yes, growing up I never really knew anything about Gay people. But, yes, now it is great that more people can come out of the closet but there is still such a long way to go.
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