Before June slips away, I do want to join the joyous joy that honors the LGBTQIA community, and join in those celebrations of love. Being an out lesbian who walked into her public school classroom for over three decades supported by administration, parents and students alike is certainly not something I ever took for granted, (although wouldn’t it be amazing if I could?). My small town USA allowed me to discuss Dostoevsky, Shakespeare, Woolf, Harper Lee, Ellison, Wiesel and more, and in doing so explore the flaws and strengths of humankind, making connection from centuries past right up to our present doorstep. Teaching readers to acknowledge the vein of evil that flows along side that of kindness, the pitfalls of greed and deception that chip away at honor and responsibility, and through text feel the difference. Understanding these traits don’t belong more so to a religious right but come from a questioning mind and are worthy of pondering. Tonight, as two men take the debate stage, I can only hope that the electorate considers the whole of our nation. That what is at stake is more than a convicted felon and a proven gentleman making their case to America, it is the rights for people like me to continue wearing a gold band on my left hand.

More so than my own freedoms, I also want to acknowledge the brave souls who strode out of the shadows and withstood shaming, imprisonment or even death. True yesterday and even more so today. “Hate crimes targeting LGBTQ people were up significantly compared with 2021, with 622 reported single-bias, anti-LGBTQ hate crimes. Hate crimes motivated by an anti-transgender bias rose more than 35 percent year over year, reaching 338 incidents” (The Hill). But despite everything aimed straight into our vulnerable hearts, we who are queer are not going away. As grateful as most are that President Biden “granted clemency to some 2,000 people who were charged between 1951 and 2013, addressing a “historic wrong,” the president said in a statement.

“Today, I am righting an historic wrong by using my clemency authority to pardon many former service members who were convicted simply for being themselves,” Mr. Biden said. “Despite their courage and great sacrifice, thousands of L.G.B.T.Q.I.+ service members were forced out of the military because of their sexual orientation or gender identity. Some of these patriotic Americans were subject to court-martial, and have carried the burden of this great injustice for decades” (New York Times). Cheers to moving forward in earnest.

As I already stated, there is much at stake in 2024. Women’s health is on the ballot, beyond abortion, the very personal care of all women is controlled by the courts and is no longer available for women in 41 states. Public School Education is under attack too. Even speaking truth is muddled by too many who have a platform. Our strong economy is a good example of that, where the naysayers state one false claim after another, clouding fact.

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June may be slated for Pride, but I plan to remember all it stands for in November too.