What an amazing experience! There was nothing more then bliss thru this Cleveland Pride Weekend, All The Work that we did came to fruition this Saturday June 29th 2013- The 25th Annual Celebration had a record attendance and not to mention a huge parade!  Here is a Play By Play-  I was the Director of Logistics for the 25th Anniversary for Cleveland Pride, As stressful as it was i had so much to learn in little time and i have to say i was excited to make it happen. There was alot of work and have to say it was very worth it and i do have to say the lessons learned were epic, I will like to thank every sponsor, every volunteer, every performer, every vendor, every person in that parade and every person in attendance THANK YOU !!!
Thank you to the rest of the board directors for your assistance and lessons, Thank you Todd Saporito for all you do, Chuck, Jon, Jim De Long, James, Annette, Michelle, Brionna, Jessica, Vision Video, Jereme, Veranda, Carly, Anthony, Keith, Ervin, George and so many more .. Special thanks to Drew Cari and Martha for starting Pride in 1989- 

Thank you for standing out! 

First of all let's take this blog back a bit shall we? 

LGBT history refers to the history of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) peoples and cultures around the world, dating back to the first recorded instances of same-sex love and sexuality of ancient civilizations. 
read full story here- Thank you WIKI-

(Some how thru The Ancient Civilizations to the 1960s Homosexuality became Unacceptable) 
Fast Forward To Stonewall -

The legendary Stonewall Inn is the birthplace of the modern Gay Rights movement.  On June 28th, 1969, the patrons of the Stonewall Inn fought back against what had become regular, tolerated, city sanctioned harassment by the police department.  For the first time in history Gay people refused to accept the status quo of oppression and stood up for themselves and, ultimately, the global Gay community.  
read full story here- 

This event started LGBT Pride Month During June - Let's touch on more LGBT History - 

Harvey Milk  was an American politician who became the first openly gay person to be elected to public office in California when he won a seat on the San Francisco Board of Supervisors. Politics and gay activism were not his early interests; he was not open about his homosexuality and did not participate in civic matters until around the age of 40, after his experiences in the counterculture of the 1960s.

1970 – The first Gay Liberation Day March is held in New York City; The first LGBT Pride Parade is held in New York; The first "Gay-in" held in San Francisco; Carl Wittmanwrites A Gay Manifesto.
1973 – The American Psychiatric Association removes homosexuality from its Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-II), based largely on the research and advocacy of Evelyn Hooker; Malta legalizes homosexuality; In West Germany, the age of consent is reduced for homosexuals to 18 (though it is 14 for heterosexuals).[citation needed]; Sally Miller Gearhart became the first open lesbian to obtain a tenure-track faculty position when she was hired by San Francisco State University, where she helped establish one of the first women and gender study programs in the country
1980 – The United States Democratic Party becomes the first major political party in the U.S. to endorse a homosexual rights platform plank; Scotland decriminalizes homosexuality; David McReynolds becomes the first openly LGBT individual to run for President of the United States, appearing on the Socialist Party U S A ticket; TheHuman Rights Campaign Fund is founded by Steve Endean; The Human Rights Campaign is America’s largest civil rights organization working to achieve lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender equality.
1990-LGBT Organizations founded: BiNet USA (USA), OutRage! (UK) and Queer Nation (USA)
1991- AIDS Related: The red ribbon is first used as a symbol of the campaign against HIV/AIDS.
1992-Homosexuality no longer an illness: The World Health Organization
2000-The Transgender Pride flag was first shown, at a pride parade in Phoenix, Arizona.
Read more on time line -

Same Sex Marriage - (Common Ohio!) 

State                             Legalization date                            Effective date.
Massachusetts        November 18, 2003                      May 17, 20042.
Connecticut               October 10, 2008                   November 12, 2008.
Iowa                                  April 3, 2009                                April 27, 2009.
Vermont                          April 7, 2009                            September 1, 2009.
New Hampshire           June 3, 2009                              January 1, 2010
District of Columbia   December 18, 2009                March 9, 2010.
New York                         June 24, 2011                            July 24, 2011.
Washington                 November 6, 2012                  December 6, 2012.
Maine                           November 6, 2012                  December 29, 2012.
Maryland                    November 6, 2012                     January 1, 2013.
Rhode Island                 May 2, 2013                               August 1, 2013.
Delaware                         May 7, 2013                                July 1, 201312.
Minnesota                      May 14, 2013                              August 1, 2013.

After that snippet let's check Ohio State based Law- (According to WIKI) - (corrections can be made)  

Recognition of same-sex relationships In 2004, voters approved a constitutional amendment, Ohio State Issue 1, that banned same-sex marriage and civil unions in the state. It passed with 62% of the vote.
Domestic partnership registries were not affected,[citation needed] nor did the measure affect the state's domestic abuse laws.
A September 2012 poll by the Washington Post indicated that 52 percent of Ohio residents surveyed said that gay marriage should be legal, while 37 percent said it should be illegal.

A March 2013 Saperstein poll for the Columbus Dispatch revealed that 54 percent of Ohio residents surveyed supported a proposed amendment that would overturn the state's 2004 constitutional ban on same-sex marriage. 
Domestic Partnership Registries Nine cities in Ohio offer domestic partnership registries. The first city to offer domestic partnerships was Cleveland Heights in 2003, which was passed by voter referendum.Toledo began offering domestic partnerships in 2007. In 2008, the Cleveland City Council created a domestic partner registry.In 2011, the Athens City Council established a domestic partner registry.In 2012, the Dayton City Commission, the Cincinnati City Council, and the Columbus City Council approved ordinances creating domestic partnership registries. Yellow Springs and Oberlin created domestic partnership registries in 2012, as did Cuyahoga County.


Alright, What prompted this idea to post all this information? 


Honestly, After attending a Plexus Meeting (Info on plexus) Where they spoke about the (LAW in LGBT) They had a lawyer there that spoke about different cases and hypothetical issues that might rise with a same sex unions and also what companies will have to do to accommodate the changes of the same sex unions in the corp world like benefits, insurance and such. 
Some of the topics were. 
Per example- Jim and John get married in NYC where their union is Recognize and Legal but they like in Ohio Where their union is not legal or recognized. Say Jim and John grow old and happy together but Jim grows sick and John is trying to help him with the basics. Jim is hospitalized and John can't see him since he has been refused right by the family of Jim. This would have been preventable if there was (A Living Will) There is also other types of legal contracts that protect you and your partner legally. 
*Im Not a Lawyer Consult One*

The Other thing that made me think and ask a good question (I know i did! ) 

The mass "Illegal" same sex weeding at The Galleria in March 2012- 200 coupes wed and this is what was stated in the public press article by the plain dealer.
"Promoters pointed out that even though Saturday's ceremony is not legal, it could provide some of the paperwork needed for obtaining a marriage license, if gay marriage is ever recognized in Ohio. it will provide some of the paperwork needed for obtaining a marriage license should gay marriage ever be recognized in Ohio."-PD



Click here to read the facebook info



So per example- Anna and Joanne got married in the mass wedding and as we know it still not recognized in the state of ohio. So say 10 years later Anna and Joanne have separated  and the ohio state law passes same sex marriage is legal. Does this mean that Anna and Joanne are still married and require a dissolution? Does that include personal property and income can be deviated equally?? Does their marriage become recognized only by sending in the paper work given to them by the mass wedding organizers? Do they send it in? (Answers??) 


Perhaps this is not very romantic but a pre nuptial agreement till your marriage becomes legal. *Again am not a layer consult one*


There is so many things going thru my head right now about LGBT families and the every day struggles they face, Also some of these families do not have resources other then google to support questions. I mean There is PFLAG, Cleveland Pride, The LGBT Center Of Greater Cleveland, AIDS Taskforce, GLSEN NEO and Equality Ohio. 


These are all organization that can offer you referrals  to legal services to answer questions. My mind is going around in circles.. can some one provide answers? help.. this will continue- :) Transgendered Information as well :)