June is Pride Month, a time to remember the past and celebrate the present. The LGBTQ community has seen its fair share of hate and violence going back to the Stonewall Riots on June 28, 1969, or simply looking at the attacks happening today.

Anti-LGBTQ crimes have risen exponentially over the past years, but significantly so during the months following 2023 Pride Month.  Over 100 cases nationwide of Anti-LGBTQ crimes were reported during the month of June and since then the rates have only continued to rise. Amelia Hansford, a writer for Pinknews shares that, “ from June 2022 to April 2023, at least 356 extremist incidents took place in the US against LGBTQ+ people and groups.” Events such as harassment, vandalism, and even assault have been reported. These numbers give reason to think that maybe society should take a step back to the past and learn from history. The LGBTQ community has spent years fighting for rights and slowly sinking into society, being seen as equal individuals with their own thoughts and emotions.  

In opposition to these facts, some would say that the number of these crimes has gone down since society became more accepting of the LGBTQ community. While the numbers did decrease for a while back in 2020, in the past months there have been reports of fatal stabbings, attacks on people who were doing nothing more than going about their day, and confrontations that led to many deaths.

Society is at a point where it should not matter who marries or loves whom. The world has evolved since the 1900’s, everyone is born on equal ground and that should not change based on someone’s sexuality. Until we as a community come together and realize that love is just love this societal blemish will not fade.