While Pride is a time for celebration, it is also an opportunity for reflection. Today’s video scrapbook of photos wraps up our month-long tribute to the boys that came before us – those that lived in the shadow of a disapproving and hostile society when the danger of being exposed as gay forced them to live double lives in absolute secrecy. Let us never forget:
Until the late 20th century, the medical establishment universally considered being gay a mental illness.
Police forces routinely targeted gay bars, undercover officers frequently engaged in entrapment, and newspapers often published the names, addresses, and the place of employment for those arrested.
Homosexual acts were routinely prosecuted under “sodomy” or “gross indecency” laws and often resulted in being registered as a sex offender.
The U.S. government and military viewed homosexuality as a national security threat.
Many countries, including the USA, legally barred homosexual immigrants from entering their country.
Gay victims of domestic violence, assault, or theft had zero recourse to the legal system, as contacting the police meant admitting to an illegal lifestyle.
Before modern non-discrimination laws, it was entirely legal for private employers to fire someone simply for being gay and for landlords to evict suspected gay tenants.
And gay parents routinely lost custody of their children in divorce proceedings, as the courts viewed homosexuality as immoral and unfit for child-rearing.
But as the courageous men depicted in our video scrapbooks – The Ragtime Years (6/7), The War Years (6/14), Couples (6/21), and Couples Vol. 2 (available today, 6/28) – prove,
Love will always find a way 🏳️🌈
Video
— @jmlx_john2 Jun 28, 2026
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