If you scroll your social media you’ll see a lot of conservatives complaining about PRIDE Month as an entire month. They’ll regularly ask themselves “why do Veterans get an entire day and they get an entire month?” But here’s the problem:
Veterans already do get an entire month.
Senator John McCain proposed the establishment of “Military Appreciation Month” in 1999 and it passed Congress and was signed into recognition by Bill Clinton. The passed bill designates and recognizes both active duty and veterans.
That same year, President Clinton, by proclamation (and not a congressional vote) established “gay and lesbian month” which was later renamed to LGTBQ Month by President Obama…. also by Presidential proclamation.
Their biggest complaint on MAGA’s end is something doesn’t exist (when it does) and that something shouldn’t be federally recognized (when it isn’t). It’s also worth noting that over 100 countries celebrate Pride either through a series of events or an entire month. It’s not just the United States. A factor that MAGA often forgets because they believe we are the center of the universe.
That said, PRIDE matters now more than ever. Support for gay marriage has actually dropped since 2021. Support for the Trans community is dropping at an even faster rate. Meanwhile, survey data has reported that around 20% of adults 18-25 in the United States identify as LGBTQIA+. A remarkable increase since the 2010s when survey data started on this topic.
So the next time you hear someone in your life complaining about why PRIDE gets an entire month but Veterans only get one day… you can now easily correct them.
