But Pride is more than a great party-the three-day extravaganza is the largest fundraiser of the year for Stonewall Columbus, the nonprofit that provides the local LGBT community with counseling, HIV testing, social meet-ups, clubs and more. More than 300,000 people gather in the Short North for the parade, which is the second largest in the Midwest, next to Chicago's.
Should the verdict in his case be handed down before then, there will be even more cause for celebration during Pride week-or all the more reason to march, depending on the outcome. Obergefell will be grand marshal in Columbus' June 20 parade. The men had been legally married in Maryland and wanted Obergefell designated as a spouse on Arthur's death certificate the case eventually went all the way to the Supreme Court. Hodges, named for Jim Obergefell of Cincinnati, who, along with husband John Arthur, sued the state before Arthur died in 2013 of Lou Gehrig's disease. Ohio has a big role in this potentially historic moment: Among the same-sex marriage cases being considered is Obergefell v. Supreme Court ruling that could, in effect, legalize gay marriage throughout the country. This month, Stonewall Columbus will host its annual Pride celebration-a weekend-long festival culminating with the famed Pride parade-in a supercharged climate as the nation awaits a U.S. Shaping Columbus into a city known as one of the friendliest LGBT destinations in America took guts, gumption and a whole lot of serendipity. Those responsible for changing the hearts and minds of Columbus residents were a diverse group of passionate activists who spoke out against injustice and fought for civil rights at a time when being openly gay was not only socially damaging but physically dangerous.
As straights came to believe the same thing-by the hundreds and thousands and millions-like magic, it happened." The American dream must include them, and they should get the same things everyone else has. Young gay people just accept this as their due. "But today's generation is fueled by a sense of entitlement. "My generation was fueled by anger," Whaley says. 15 on the list, with 4.3 percent, which is higher than rates in New York City, Miami and Chicago. In March, Gallup released a ranking of the nation's top 50 metropolitan areas, based on the population of adults who identify as LGBT. The city's LGBT-friendly reputation isn't merely anecdotal. The local tourism bureau markets it, corporations brag about it and city politicians back it-it's become another badge used to attract a younger, more enlightened generation of residents. Three decades later, Columbus prides itself on being a place where residents are not only tolerant but supportive of the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) community.