2020 has gotten a bad rap, with many calling it the “Worst Year Ever.”
But a lot of good things happened this year. From LGBTQ elected officials to weddings to cultural breakthroughs, here are 20 positive stories that took place in the year 2020.
Take a moment to remember that we do have things to be grateful for, even this year.
The sheriff fired her because she’s a lesbian so she ran against him. She’ll be the new sheriff now.
Charmaine McGuffey made headlines when she announced her decision to run for sheriff after she was allegedly fired for being a lesbian. She challenged her former boss and won.
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Touching new Starbucks ad is about a trans teen changing his name
In an ad from early 2020, a trans teen named James keeps on getting called by his deadname – at the doctor’s office, on his student ID card, by family. At the end of the ad, James goes to Starbucks, where an employee asks him what his name is.
“It’s James,” he responds, and the employee writes it on the cup.
Black lesbian political powerhouse Karine Jean-Pierre announced as Kamala Harris’s chief of staff
This past August, former Vice President Joe Biden’s campaign assigned an out woman to be chief of staff to his running mate Kamala Harris, putting a lesbian in one of the campaign’s most senior positions.
Lilly Wachowski says “The Matrix” is a transgender allegory
“I’m glad that it’s gotten out that [the transgender allegory] was the original intention,” the film maker said.
She said that The Matrix “was all about the desire for transformation, but it was all coming from a closeted point of view.”
The first Rainbow OREO cookies are here
Beloved cookie OREO has announced its partnership with PFLAG, the largest LGBTQ organization in the country. With it, comes – for the first time – the unveiling of Rainbow OREO cookies.
Kamala Harris’s updated Twitter profile shares her pronouns & her new title: Vice President-elect
“Vice President-Elect of the United States. Senator, Wife, Momala, Auntie. Fighting for the people. She/her.”
First hospital in the US apologized for performing cosmetic genital surgery on intersex children
“We empathize with intersex individuals who were harmed by the treatment that they received according to the historic standard of care and we apologize and are truly sorry,” said the Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago in a statement.
A quarantined gay man played piano on his balcony for neighbors. Then someone brought out the sax.
Humanity found ways to express joy during months of pandemic and quarantine. This gay man inspired his neighbors with music.
Nevada voters turn same-sex marriage ban into legal protections for gay couples
Nevada voters removed the state’s constitutional amendment that banned same-sex marriages to require the state to recognize and perform them, making it the first state to protect same-sex marriage rights in its constitution.
Three gay Democratic “rising stars” participated in joint keynote address at convention
Pennsylvania Rep. Malcolm Kenyatta, Georgia Rep. Sam Park, and Long Beach, California Mayor Robert Garcia are among the 17 Democrats who will address the national party alongside former Georgia state Rep. and gubernatorial candidate Stacey Abrams.
Out Democrat Mondaire Jones wins “most influential role available to a freshman member of Congress”
One of the two first Black gay people elected to Congress was selected to be the Freshman Representative to Leadership. He will meet weekly with party leaders and will serve as the spokesperson for the 15-member incoming group of newly elected representatives.
Dwyane Wade’s daughter is transgender & he’s the best dad she could have
NBA player Dwyane Wade’s support for his transgender daughter Zaya made headlines.
“Me and my wife Gabrielle [Union, the actress], we are proud – and I say proud – parents of a child in the LGBTQ+ community,” Wade announced on the Ellen Degeneres Show.
Gay widower wins historic victory for Social Security benefits in federal court
A federal judicial magistrate ruled that a widower is entitled to survivor benefits after the death of his husband of 43 years, which the Social Security Administration had denied him because they were not legally married long enough.
Supreme Court rules in favor of LGBTQ rights in landmark decision Bostock decision
“Today, we must decide whether an employer can fire someone simply for being homosexual or transgender. The answer is clear.”
A lesbian couple held a pandemic wedding at a drive-in movie theater & walked down an aisle of cars
Bri and Lindsey Leaverton met in 2018 and planned to get married this year. And they didn’t let the pandemic stop them.
DuckTales introduced gay dads as new characters & the web went quackers
In a groundbreaking episode, the triplet’s friend Violet’s dads adopt her friend Lena. Violet dubs her “my sister from a couple of misters.”
Sarah McBride will be the nation’s highest ranking transgender politician after election victory
“Time and time again, I’ve had the opportunity to see there is space for people of all different backgrounds, including trans people, in our politics,” McBride told LGBTQ Nation.
These photos from same-sex weddings show everyone what love looks like
Half a decade after the Supreme Court’s Obergefell decision, same-sex couples all over the country have gotten legally married. Here are a few of the happy couples who showed the world how beautiful marriage equality can be.
#ThankYouPete takes over social media as LGBTQ people react to Pete Buttigieg’s historic campaign
LGBTQ people around the nation saluted Mayor Pete’s history-making campaign on social media with the hashtag #ThankYouPete.
Joe Biden will be the first president to enter the White House supporting marriage equality
Oh yeah, there was also this election, setting up 2021 to be a much better year for LGBTQ rights.
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