Celebrate LA Pride with the NOH8 Campaign!

The NOH8 Campaign wants YOU to be a part of our LA Pride Parade March!

June is official Pride Month (as proclaimed by President Obama), and we have a lot scheduled this month to commemorate what we've accomplished as a community! We have appearances lined up later this month at both San Francisco's and Fort Lauderdale's Pride festivities, but we're kicking it all off here at home in Los Angeles.

"As Americans, it is our birthright that all people are created equal and deserve the same rights, privileges, and opportunities.  Since our earliest days of independence, our Nation has striven to fulfill that promise.  An important chapter in our great, unfinished story is the movement for fairness and equality on behalf of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) community.  This month, as we recognize the immeasurable contributions of LGBT Americans, we renew our commitment to the struggle for equal rights for LGBT Americans and to ending prejudice and injustice wherever it exists." - Barack Obama, Presidential Proclamation for LGBT Pride Month

Power. Passion. Purpose. This weekend (June 11-13th) is the 40th Anniversary of LA Pride, presented by the AMAZING people at Christopher Street West. Hundreds of thousands of LGBT people and their supporters from all over California will come to the streets of West Hollywood to celebrate their community and make their voices heard. They've even made special arrangement for our group marching in the Parade!

On Sunday June 13th, hundreds of family, friends, and supporters of the GLBT community will be joining the NOH8 Campaign in an organized march to make our voices heard during the LA Pride Parade. On this very special anniversary, we want to show everybody watching us that our passion, our purpose, and our power are still going strong and won't be dying down anytime soon. We're expecting a record turn-out this year, and we invite EVERYONE who wants to take a stand for Equality to join us.

We were fortunate enough to march with a loyal group of about 40 NOH8ers last year when the campaign was still in its infancy, and we're hoping the thousands of people we've met in the year since will make for an incredible demonstration at this year's Pride. BE A PART OF THIS HISTORIC OCCASION! Bring your friends, your family, even your neighbors! Over 1,000 people have already RSVP'd, and the list continues to grow every day. We will have some very special surprise guests joining us who are excited to march with the community as well.

It doesn't matter if you're gay, straight, or anywhere in-between - anyone who supports equal rights is invited to march with us. We want to create a powerful visual statement and bring together as many people as we possibly can. Imagine the huge sea of white shirts taking over the parade route!

Whether you've taken a photo with us or not, we encourage you to get your friends and family together to join us in bringing the activism back to Pride. Wear your plain white shirt! We'll be ready and waiting to supply everyone marching with a NOH8 temporary tattoo to sport during the march.

We've come a long way in the fight for our equal rights and fair treatment, and we want to take this opportunity to celebrate our lives and who we are; but we also must remind our community how important it is to remember our fight is far from over. We must remember the struggle to get to where we are today, and how hard those who are no longer with us had to fight for our right to march. It is our duty to honor the memory and the struggle of those who have lost their lives in this battle by taking advantage of the opportunity to be heard that many of them never had.

The complete details are available here in our Events section, which include where to meet and when to meet by for the Sunday morning Pride Parade. Please remember to arrive with plenty of time - it's going to be a busy Pride. This will be a day to remember, and we look forward to seeing many of you there!

Are you in town for Pride and been waiting for your chance to join the campaign and get a NOH8 photo of your very own? We'll also be hosting an OPEN SHOOT on Saturday, June 12th (the day before the Parade) at the Andaz Hotel in West Hollywood, walking distance from the heart of Pride Festivities. We invite you to stop by and say hello! You can check out all the details by clicking on the event page here.