Every June there is usually pride events that celebrate the LGBTQ+ community. Some of them are parades, festivals, and even drag shows. Companies are busting out the pride flags, and small business owners are asking people to support the community and a good cause.

LGBTQ+ people had always had to fight for their rights, yet straight people are complaining that there is no "straight pride month". There are some people that are planning a straight pride parade.

Let me tell you this .Pride is not all about an excuse to party; it is actually much more than that.

Has anyone ever heard of the Stonewall riots? They occurred on June 28, 1969, at the Stonewall Inn a gay club located in New York City. As some of you may know, the 1960s weren't exactly a welcoming time for the community. In fact, did you know that back then, people could get arrested for wearing less than three "gender-appropriate" articles of clothing?

The LGBTQ+ community had found a safe haven of gay clubs and bars, where they could be themselves during the trying time. Then, the New York State Liquor Authority shut down any establishments that served alcohol to them as they considered the gathering of LGBTQ+ individuals "disorderly".

When police raided Stonewall Inn on the morning of June 28, it came as a surprise—the bar wasn't tipped off.

While the regulations were overturned in 1966, engaging in gay behavior in public (holding hands, kissing, or dancing with someone of the same sex) was still illegal, so police harassment of gay bars continued and many bars still operated without liquor licenses.

Armed with a warrant, police officers entered the club, roughed up patrons, and, finding bootlegged alcohol, arrested 13 people, including employees and people violating the state's gender-appropriate clothing statute. Female officers would take suspected cross-dressing patrons into the bathroom to check their sex.

Tired of the treatment they were receiving, the community then decided to protest notable leaders were Marsha P Johnson and Sylvia Rivera. They threw bricks at cops and shot glasses, and were recognized 50 years later. That is why most pride parades are held at the end of June, signifying the very first pride parade.

People complaining about straight pride is like someone complaining about the handicapped parking wondering why they don't have four spots dedicated to them. They have no idea what they had to go through and what they still have to go through just to be accepted: to not be afraid to hold their partner's hand, to be able to see them in the hospital if they are sick, to be able to have a family, to not have to fear for their lives.

So the next time you complain that there is no straight pride parade be thankful that you don't, because you have always had rights.