![Pride has been officially recognized for nearly 25 years. In June 1999, President Bill Clinton declared "the anniversary of [the] Stonewall [riots] every June in America as Gay and Lesbian Pride Month". In 2011, President Barack Obama expanded the officially recognized Pride Month to include the whole LGBTQ community.](https://npr.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/77364df/2147483647/strip/true/crop/1920x1080+0+0/resize/840x472!/format/webp/quality/90/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2F8c%2F34%2Fe09af3164599bc06c53109b91a4a%2Fpride-by-emma-rahmani.png)
June is Pride Month. around the world, celebrations of the LGBTQ+ community are happening to celebrate sexual and gender minorities.
This year, the celebrations come in the context of more than 75 anti-LGBTQ+ laws passing in state houses across the country, more than double the number of anti-LGBTQ+ bills that passed last year. For the first time in its 40 year history, the Human Rights Campaign has declared a state of emergency for LGBTQ+ people in the United States.
Tramour Wilson is the Senior Director of Advocacy and Community Engagement at the Pride Center of Maryland, located in Baltimore.
