The team at Students For Liberty would like to wish you all Happy Pride Month! Selected to coincide with the anniversary of the 1969 Stonewall riots, Pride serves as an opportunity to reflect upon the progress made in recognizing and respecting the rights of LGBTQ+ people.
However, it is also important to remember that this progress is far from complete. Many governments still enforce a wide range of laws targeting LGBTQ+ people. In some cases, this even goes as far as capital punishment.
Despite this, there is cause for optimism, as the global trend in the decades since Stonewall has been overwhelmingly in favor of repealing anti-LGBT legislation. As of 2020, there are now 29 countries which recognize same-sex marriage.
To celebrate Pride, we have compiled a collection of relevant content for you to check out:
1. Video: How The State Legislated Against The LGBT Community
This video, presented by Professor Michael Bronski, is part of our Learn Liberty series on LGBT rights. Here, he discusses some of the absurd and discriminatory laws from the not-so-distant past that violated the rights of LGBTQ+ people.
2. Video: Media Censorship: When Gay And Lesbian Content Was Illegal
This is another video presented by Professor Bronski, where he talks about the strict censorship which prevented the publication of any LGBTQ+-related content. The situation changed significantly after the Supreme Court of the United States ruled in 1958 that gay and lesbian content, in and of itself, was not obscene or pornographic. This subsequently paved the way for greater advocacy of LGBTQ+ rights, as it was protected under the First Amendment.
3. Blog Post: What else can we learn from Prof. Deirdre McCloskey?
This article features the celebrated economist and political writer, Professor Deirdre McCloskey. In 2015, she took part in a series of Learn Liberty videos called ‘Trans Talks’. Here, she discusses transgender rights from a classical liberal perspective.
4. Learn Liberty Video: Transgender Rights, Ep. 1: Who You Are, Not Who You Love
Professor Deirdre McCloskey shares her thoughts on gender identity and transgender rights in a free society.
5. Learn Liberty Video: Transgender Rights, Ep. 2: Changing Hearts
Here, Professor McCloskey talks about popular culture helping to raise awareness for transgender issues.
6. Learn Liberty Video: Transgender Rights, Ep. 3: Equal Dignity, Equal Inventiveness
In the third episode of Trans Talks, Prof. McCloskey discusses the opportunities around offering more classical liberal perspectives on promoting the rights of transgender people.
7. Our LGBTQ Cluster Page
The LGBTQ cluster page in our blog is a great place to read about the perspective of Students For Liberty on LGBTQ+ issues. As well as highlighting the progress made in recent years, we discuss some of the challenges still faced by LGBTQ+ individuals, as many governments still enforce a plethora of discriminatory laws that impact on personal freedom.
8. Our ‘Don’t Tread on Anyone’ Pillar Page
Finally, on this page, you can find links to any of our blog content relating to issues of government interference with people’s individual rights. Here, we set out our perspective on civil liberties and the right of each person to be treated fairly and equally under the law.
