From this place and time, building on the work of many before, the nation started the march - not yet finished - toward securing equality and respect for L.G.B.T. people."-President Obama during Stonewall National Monument Proclamation
Pride in the ‘10’s brought in new federal representation for the LGBTQ+ Community.
The United States military policy of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell" policy was officially repealed in 2011. This policy prevented military service by people who were openly lesbian, gay, or bisexual, and could result in a dishonorable discharge for any service member who came out or was outed. Then in 2015, the U.S. legalized marriage equality on the federal level for all 50 states. Many positive changes were happening for the LGBTQ+ community but not everything was harmonious outside of Washington D.C. and the need for more protections for the community would be clear by the end of the decade.
Next year, in 2016, Stonewall National Monument was established on June 24th. Days earlier (on June 12th), one of the deadliest mass shooting in the United States happened at the Pulse Nightclub in Florida. The gunman killed 49 people and wounded 53 more at this gay nightclub. The Stonewall National Monument was established by presidential proclamation as the first and only to date National Park Service site dedicated to telling and preserving the story and history of the LGBTQ+ community. In the shadow of the Pulse shooting, to have these stories protected on a federal scale was as important as ever.
In Europe, anti-LGBT violence was also high, between the Belgrade anti-gay riots, the purges in Chechnya, and other deadly events. This is not to say all people were deterred in marching for their rights and for visibility. To end the decade, New York City hosted the first U.S. WorldPride the same year as the 50th anniversary of the Stonewall Uprisings in 2019. This event saw over 5 million visitors and 695 organizations who participated in the twelve-hour Pride March.
Source: U.S. Department of the Interior, National Park Service