The progress of gay rights in this country is one of the few trends of the past few decades that gives me hope. Pride celebrations in San Francisco are held in City Hall Plaza, in the shadow of the building where Harvey Milk was assassinated in 1978.

One of the speakers was a man who was the first openly gay ambassador, and he recounted his experience at the first gay pride march, in New York City, forty years ago. He said the enthusiasm had been the same, but "the numbers, shall we say, were considerably smaller."

It was an amazing celebration. People were happy, and despite the thronging crowds, people seemed to feel safe. The marchers were, of course, fabulous and exuberant. I was reminded of the name of a Tel Aviv artist, which blogger Andrew Sullivan (himself gay), often invokes: Know Hope.

-- DevinMcDougall - 28 Jun 2010