Copyright: lgbt pride month

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LGBT Pride Month or more commonly Pride Month is the month of June, as recognized in the U.S. It celebrates, but is not limited to, lesbian, gay, bisexual, asexual and transgender (LGBT) pride and rights.

It was inspired by the Stonewall riots, a series of protests by the LGBTQ community beginning on June 28, 1969, in response to a police raid on the Stonewall Inn, a gay bar and tavern in New York City which, at the time, criminalized non-heterosexual activities. In response to the raid, LGBT protesters held a series of riots in the following days pushing back against the discriminatory laws and attitudes of the time. One year later, the first pride marches occurred and the current LGBTQ+ liberation movements began to develop. In June 1999, President Bill Clinton recognized and declared June as Gay and Lesbian Pride Month, which was expanded in 2011 by President Barack Obama to include the entirety of the LGBT community.

Criticism has often been leveled at companies that sell pride-related merchandise as trying to make a quick buck off Pride Month instead of legitimately supporting LGBTQ+ rights. A number of religious and cultural groups oppose Pride Month activities as contrary to their beliefs and traditions, which sometime causes conflicts between them and LGBTQ+ groups.

Although most places celebrate Pride Month in June, other places often will hold it on different months due to weather concerns, for example February in Auckland, New Zealand or March in Christchurch and Wellington.