The Pride flag was first flown in San Francisco at the Gay Freedom Day Parade celebration in 1978-designed by a young activist named Gilbert Baker, at the suggestion of Harvey Milk. The flag also reminds us that the state of California has written more than a few chapters in the history of the LGBTQ movement in America. In California, we will always defend their right to live their lives out loud. We recognize those contributions during Pride month and every month. There is not a school or a workplace in the state of California that is not enriched by the contributions of LGBTQ people. All the colors on the Pride flag remind us what makes California great: our remarkable capacity to live together and advance together across every conceivable difference.
A flag that stands for justice, equality and love will always make California proud.įor the rest of Pride month, all Californians can look up to the top of their Capitol building and know that their state does not just tolerate diversity, we celebrate it.
But flying the Pride flag over the state Capitol this month was not one of them. As governor of a state as large and diverse as California, I make a lot of difficult decisions.
