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At Senft Legal, we believe that justice is for everyone. One of our core values is supporting our local community by standing up for those facing injustice. We reaffirm those commitments by directly supporting the LGBTQ+ community. This year, we are proud sponsors of Stonewall Pride 2025 at Wilton Manors, Florida. We urge you to join us for a day of celebration on Saturday, June 14!
Courtesy of Mathias Wasik from New York City, USA, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
During a time when major corporations are rolling back support for Pride events, we recognize the critical importance of loud, unwavering support. Often, support is fueled by education. So, let’s take a step back and explore what Pride means to our mission. We’ll also be exploring the history of the Stonewall uprising and LGBTQ+ Pride at Wilton Manors, in an effort to share key stories of progress which inspire us.
Courtesy of Atsushi JC, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Though the LGBTQ+ community has made much progress over the past century, there is still a long way to go here in the U.S. As of May 2025, the American Civil Liberties Union is monitoring a staggering 580 anti-LGBTQ+ bills. The Human Rights Campaign points specifically to a crisis of hateful rhetoric and discriminatory practices facing transgender Americans. While Pride month is the perfect time to celebrate the many victories of the community, it is also crucial to remember the ongoing battle for critical legal protections.
Events like Stonewall Pride at Wilton Manors couldn’t happen today without the bravery of local advocates who fought in defense of their community. In honor of these advocates, and to inspire us all to better advocacy, let’s take a look back at the colorful history leading up to this event.
Courtesy of Grace Mahony, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Many people say that Pride as we know it began with the Stonewall uprising in 1969. The story begins in New York City at a time when being openly LGBTQ+ was not only dangerous, but essentially illegal. This included laws against gender nonconforming clothing and serving alcohol to gay patrons.
Thus, for those who might today identify themselves as members of the LGBTQ+ community, it was much harder to find kinship with others — or even a safe place to exist as themselves. Establishments which would open their doors to gay and gender nonconforming individuals did so at risk of routine police raids.
To continue to operate, many gay bars at the time, including the Stonewall Inn, needed robust protections which the law did not offer. Allegedly, these protections were often secured by bribing law enforcement or associating with organized crime. With their existence deemed illegal, operating outside the law became their only option.
However, these safeguards were flimsy, and the possibility of an unfriendly visit from law enforcement became an understood risk. The police raid that took place on June 28, 1969, was not the first for the Stonewall Inn. But, for one reason or another, it would soon become the most famous.
In past police raids, the patrons would be likely to scatter, hoping to escape arrest. But this time, people stayed, and they fought back. The struggle quickly heated up, with the crowd interfering in any way they could with arrests; whether by throwing objects or even blocking police vehicles. These acts of rebellion led the officers to retreat into the bar, barricading themselves inside. A growing crowd of protesters continued to attack the bar.
Eventually, reinforcements were dispatched to break up the mob, but the energy did not fade that easily. With a newly ignited sense of unity and an inflamed desire for justice, the protesters continued their resistance.
This event was not the first time LGBTQ+ Americans had united against oppressive law enforcement practices, and it certainly would not be the last. However, something about this specific uprising stuck in the hearts and minds of the community, and many sources hail it as a critical turning point.
In the years to follow, despite the long journey ahead for LGBTQ+ liberation, those behind the cause seemed more emboldened and more united. It was a demonstration that defines what Pride is today — a refusal to back down and live in silence.
Photographed by Brandon English, Sculpted by Jesse Pallotta, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
We envision a future where people can celebrate Pride anywhere, but we’re excited to be celebrating in Wilton Manors, Florida, specifically, because of its history at the forefront of progress. Let’s take a brief glimpse at some of their proudest milestones.
In 1997, Wilton Manors enacted a ban on sexual orientation–based discrimination by communications operators. Shortly after, in 1999, the city’s protection of gay individuals would be reinforced with a Domestic Partnership Ordinance, granting equal benefits to city employees in non-heterosexual partnerships.
These pro-LGBTQ+ policies reflected a local atmosphere where gay residents had more opportunities. By 2000, Wilton Manors had elected a majority-gay governing body—making it the second U.S. city to achieve such a majority. The year 2000 also marks the beginning of Wilton Manors’ annual celebration of Stonewall Pride.
Even as the nation continued to debate the issue of gay partnerships, the city of Wilton Manors claimed the title of ‘second gayest city’ in the United States based on the 2010 U.S. census, due to the number of same-sex couples living there.
In January 2015, same-sex marriage was legalized in the state of Florida, inspiring the city of Wilton Manors to host a mass-wedding of gay couples on Valentine’s day of the same year, called “WE DO!” A few months later, the United States Supreme Court legalized same-sex marriage nationwide in the critical case known as Obergefell v. Hodges.
Today, the city requires contracts signed on its behalf to include a nondiscrimination clause protecting both sexual orientation and gender identity. And, of course, the city still hosts its Stonewall Pride celebration every year, and we believe it will continue to make strides towards liberation and equality for people of all genders and sexualities.
Courtesy of Elisa Rolle, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
The freedoms which protect the expression of gender and sexuality today exist thanks to the efforts of generations of LGBTQ+ figures striving to create a better world. In every city, state, and nation across the world, progress relies on those who are bold enough to take a stance against injustice.
As we reflect upon the battles fought in the past and look to the present-day challenges, such as the persistent targeting of transgender individuals in the United States, we must recognize the importance of Pride. Rather than backing down, local communities need to come together to stand for justice, equality, and love; like the people of Wilton Manors, and the patrons of the Stonewall Inn.
Senft Legal is proud to stand with the LGBTQ+ community this June at Stonewall Pride 2025, and we hope that you will join us in doing so. In the meantime, we wish you a Happy Pride Month!