United in Pride: Defying Hatred, Fighting For Our Future

Jacob ThomaS is a gay DADT Era Veteran and our Communications Director (pronouns: he/him)

Today marks the beginning of Pride Weekend here in Minneapolis, as well as in NYC and San Francisco. Pride commemorates the resistance and gay liberation movement as it finally spilled out onto the national stage during the Stonewall Riots. Resisting fascism and oppression is baked into the DNA of LGBTQ+ people. We have survived so much together: The horrors of the Holocaust where our Pink Triangle symbol of resistance was born out of, The Lavender Scare of the 1950s, The AIDS epidemic, Don’t Ask Don’t Tell (DADT), Trump’s hateful military trans ban, and so much more. We have weathered so many storms of hatred, bigotry, and tragedy. When we stand together, protect and care for each other, we are unstoppable. We survived McCarthy and Anita Bryant and we will survive this rise in hatred and bigotry too—together. I am so damn proud of our community and all y’all—our veteran members and civilian supporters—who show up for queer and trans lives everyday. The values that led most of us to serve our country and continue that service as we advocate for progressive change as veterans fills my heart with pride.

Resisting fascism and oppression

is baked into the DNA of LGBTQ+ people.

The progress we have made would not be possible without so many fierce allies in this fight with us. Now, more than ever, it is crucial to stand against homophobia and transphobia. At Common Defense we are devoted to fighting for a country where “We the People” means everyone because we know that “Liberty and Justice” must truly be FOR ALL if we want it to exist for any of us. Liberation must be without exception. If our trans siblings or our Black neighbors cannot enjoy liberation with us then we aren’t liberated either. Liberation is more than marriage equality and there is clearly so much more work to do.

I remember serving under the shadow of Don’t Ask Don’t Tell,

constantly fearing exposure and being outed.

I remember serving under the shadow of Don’t Ask Don’t Tell, constantly fearing exposure and being outed. I served in the Air Force from 2008 to 2016. Even though half of my service was spent in the confines of the closet, I was proud to serve. Thanks to the tireless efforts of countless courageous service members, the discriminatory policy of DADT was eventually discarded into the dustbin of history where it belongs.

LGBTQ+ people have fought for and served this country from the beginning; yet, despite our invaluable contributions, too many elected officials are attacking our trans and queer siblings! It is shameful and we must remain steadfast against the hatred and vitriol from the extreme right—not just on LGBTQ+ issues but on all civil & human rights matters.

We know that equality and liberation cannot be conditional. It must be without exception. Our liberation is bound together with ALL of our liberation. Tomorrow is the 1 year anniversary of the unjust Supreme Court decision overturning Roe v Wade, and if you recall, Clarence Thomas took explicit aim at wanting to overturn Lawrence v Texas, the decision struck down discriminatory “sodomy laws” as well as the Obergefell decision which made marriage equality the law of the land. The Court’s reversal of Roe and their dismantling of human rights is disgraceful; and yet, I am reminded of our community’s resilience in the face of daunting hate and oppression.

We have come so far and I know that with us working together, we can go even further. I have no doubt that the court so brazenly showcasing their desire to overturn LGBTQ+ precedent last year on Pride weekend was designed to try and steal our joy. But we will not let them steal our joy nor our pride! 

Pride is a celebration of queer and trans joy but it is also a critical moment for us to recommit to the work ahead. The rights and protections we have won were hard fought and they are under threat in ways that we have not seen in decades. Our country is experiencing a rising tide of hatred and bigotry directed at LGBTQ+ people and particularly our trans and gender expansive siblings. We are facing some of the most concerted attacks against our existence as queer and trans people that our communities have ever seen within the United States.

Nevertheless, I know that we will win—not just the future that we want, but the present that we deserve! We have always been strongest when we are united together and I am awestruck by how our communities have rallied together over these past few years to push back against hate—and not just anti-LGBTQ+ hate, but also against the hate spewed at our Muslim and Jewish neighbors, against our undocumented friends and family as well as showing up against police brutality and murders of our Black community members at the hands of police. We must pass the Equality Act and commit ourselves to exploring all the ways in which we can achieve liberation and protect the most vulnerable of us.

Harvey Milk—one of the first openly gay people ever elected to office in the United States and a Navy veteran I might add—gave a speech in what seemed like a dark time for our community as well and the overwhelming message he had was: hope. Hope for a better world, a better future. I firmly believe that hope and love will carry us through. It is love that keeps me in this fight. Love for each and every one of you in our beautiful and vibrant community: the gay kid sitting in a church pew not feeling worthy, the trans student who doesn’t feel at home in their own skin, the gay elder looking back on their life, that love keeps me going and the hope that our community will continue to thrive together even in dark times as we have done over and over and over again.

So if you need hope, have some of mine. I want to share it with you. I have hope because I think back to my hometown in Georgia. The bustling metropolis of Adairsville with its 4,800 residents. Where a scared little gay kid kept trying to pray to be straight. Who had to lie to his pastor and principal when questioned about his sexuality at 15 all those years ago. Who tried doing everything he could to prove he was good enough—man enough—including joining the military. As I have I gotten to go back home over the years, I have seen how that little town that felt so hostile back then—how that school and church that had felt so hostile—was now a safe space for gay and trans kids with a pastor that not only loved our community like I do but is actively fighting for us to thrive in Northwest Georgia. It was a full 180 and I am so proud of so many for that growth. I know things can get better because I have seen it and I know that people can change for the better. Even in the face of these unprecedented attacks our lives, our stories, change hearts and minds. I have seen it with my own eyes, in my own hometown, and I know that mine is not the last hometown that will be delivered from hatred, bigotry, and fear. That is why I have hope.

Hope that it is not over.

Hope that we will not only survive but thrive, together.

Hope that our gay and trans youth will grow up in a better world.

Hope that their gay and trans kids will grow up in an even better world.

Hope that we WILL pass the Equality Act.

Hope that we will fight back against the hate.

Hope that we will win.

Hope that love ALWAYS prevails.

Those who fight against us want to snuff out our hope, our joy, and our pride. But I know that we win when we lead with hope and love in solidarity with all those who are marginalized. We The People have the power—the gay people, the trans people, the poor, the marginalized: we are stronger together. That is why we have always made the biggest strides toward equality when we have recognized our shared struggle. Those who fight against us know this all too well so they seek to divide us. We must not let them. Our fight for equality is interconnected and woven together with all those who are oppressed. We will win the future we need by fighting in solidarity, together—whether Black, brown, indigenous, immigrant, poor, white, or yes, LGBTQ+. Our success is dependent on each other.

Paul Wellstone, a Senator from here in Minnesota, once said that “we all do better, when we all do better.” Let that be our guiding light: the knowledge that success for our trans youth is a success for us all; that success for our Black siblings is a success for us all; success for women in this country is a success for us all; success for poor whites to access a living wage is a success for us all; success for LGBTQ+ people brings us all a step closer to equality; and that a threat to one of us is a threat to all of us.

We who are set on equality are the majority and we will prevail. I know this deep in my soul.

So let’s party this Pride Weekend and revel in the knowledge that no matter how many times the bigots and extremists try to silence us they will NEVER win! They will never steal our joy and they will never stop us from living our truths! Take this weekend to laugh and love and cry and waive that rainbow flag as high as you can. On Monday we start the work again to make our country live up to our ideals: that we are all created equal. With liberty and justice FOR ALL.