In June, millions of people around the world of all sexual orientations and gender identities will take to the streets to both acknowledge the strides made and the need to continue the struggle for full LGBTQ liberation.
This year, Pride participants in many areas will be urged to actively support and vote for Hillary Clinton to defeat Donald Trump, the presumptive Republican nominee, as the best way to protect the gains won by the community.
While the Hillary Clinton and the Democratic Party leadership will try to say the right things during Pride month, their real record tells another story.
Clinton supported the passage of the bigoted Defense of Marriage Act in 1996. She did not “come out” for marriage equality until 2013, when the tidal wave of the movement forced her to become a “progressive” or otherwise be swept away. Her support for LGBTQ equality is completely phony.
When she praised Nancy Reagan last year for her “quiet advocacy” during the AIDS epidemic—an outrageous distortion of history and an insult to all those who suffered under the Reagan administration’s criminal inaction—she showed just how phony her support is. Clinton’s history in politics has been as a leader and mouthpiece for the top 0.1 percent, the class of bankers and corporate CEOs that has attacked the social programs, wages and benefits that the vast majority of the LGBTQ community, who are workers, rely on.
The historic ruling by the U.S. Supreme Court legalizing same-sex marriage was initially opposed by much of the Democratic Party leadership until the strength of the movement made it politically expedient to get behind it.
The alternative way
The LGBTQ liberation movement has never advanced because of ruling-class politicians. It has relied on the strength of the people themselves to cast off bigotry and hate.
The Party for Socialism and Liberation is running for president a working-class activist and life-long fighter for LGBTQ liberation, Gloria La Riva. Her record is not just one of words but deeds.
Gloria attended the groundbreaking 1979 National March on Washington for Lesbian and Gay Rights that marked the 10-year anniversary of the Stonewall Uprising as well as the enormous Second March in 1987. As a key organizer of the 1982 commemorations of the Chicano Moratorium, Gloria fought for the inclusion of Chicano LGBTQ activists as speakers there.
While Nancy Reagan was pandering to right-wing religious bigots, Gloria was in the streets against them and against the Reagan administration. Gloria participated in many of the militant actions organized by ACT-UP. She was arrested in an action that blocked the entrance to the Federal Building in San Francisco, demanding action on the AIDS crisis.
The Gloria La Riva for President campaign’s 10-point program includes: “Full federal equality for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer people. Fight anti-LGBTQ discrimination and violence. Full federal equality in all matters governed by civil law.”
From now until November and beyond, the La Riva campaign and the Party for Socialism and Liberation will stay in the streets in all the people’s struggles—from the fight against bigoted legislation like HB2, to the struggle against anti-immigrant bigots like Donald Trump, to the local battles over police brutality and racist displacement.
We are dedicated to building the socialist movement, the real hope for those who wish to bring an end to the destructive capitalist system and replace it with one based on meeting people’s needs. Join us!
