From the Publisher: This Pride, we reclaim our family

Family is a peculiar word.

It is, perhaps, the one word that has haunted our community as much as it has driven us.

Long before “marriage equality” could be whispered in the Centennial State, long before a gay man could serve as speaker of the state’s House, long before the U.S. Supreme Court ruled Colorado’s Amendment 2 was unconstitutional, our community banded together – as a family – not only to put an end to police brutality, not only to put an end to AIDS, but for the simple fact that no one else wanted us.

We’ve come along way in the last 38 years.

And on June 15 and June 16, our city, our state, and what will seem like the rest of the Rocky Mountain region and Western plains, will celebrate and “Focus On Our Families” at Denver PrideFest at Civic Center with a dyke march, dogs in drag, two parades (one for children, one for adults), entertainment, dancing and so much more.

No doubt, there is much to relish this year, but I wonder: as we gain greater acceptance in mainstream society, as we move further away from Stonewall, are we losing some of what has made us so special for so long – liberation?

While out gay men and women are serving on a wide range of charity organizations across the Denver metro area, and can now share affection in Larimer Square, our legacy nonprofits that raised money for dozens of community–specific and time sensitive issues, and watering holes that served as shelter from oppression are faced with the task of reinventing themselves for a new generation of LGBTers. And while the fight for marriage equality is full steam ahead, other important work on violence, healthcare and trans rights, still lie ahead of us.

In some paradoxical way, our community has never felt so close yet so far apart.

My intent is not to frighten any of us back into the closet, but to remind all of us there are the families we’ve chosen – and in some instances chosen us – and the families that society deems us appropriate to have.

Both are just as important. But one begat the other. And we should never forget that.

While my postmodern Modern Family paranoia keeps me up at night, I find peace in this special edition of Out Front.

For a more than a month, Out Front‘s team led by editor Matt Pizzuti opened the door for the community to define the moment with messages in our photo project, “Messages of Pride.”

Our readers helped us select their best messages to put on display here in this edition.

And while each of the messages chosen by our readers are uniquely special, there is something breathtaking about seeing the collective body of hope, love – and family – all at once. If you haven’t already, after you’ve finished this special edition of Out Front, I encourage you, to hop over to ofcnow.co/Qdc and view the slideshow.

Now that I think about it, it’s sort of like a family portrait.

From all of us at Out Front, we wish you a safe and happy PrideFest.