The rainbows are up, the events are planned and soon the party will begin.
This weekend Jasper will celebrate its fifth annual Pride Weekend—an event that started with meagre beginnings in 2009 and this year has grown into the largest venue in town.
As we prepare to celebrate this monumental occasion, it’s worth reflecting on what this event means to Jasper as a whole, to the town’s LGBTQ community and to those who are visiting.
These days, after decades of pride parades and festivals, it’s not uncommon to hear people ask whether such demonstrations are still necessary.
It’s a fair question: gay rights have come a long way.
But, the truth is, a long way isn’t far enough.
You just have to take a quick look at current events to see that there are still places in the world, in North America and even in Canada where members of the LGBTQ community continue to live in fear or without basic human rights.
Take Russia, for instance. If you paid any attention to the Olympics this year, you know that in June 2013, an anti-gay propaganda law was passed, to prevent the distribution of ideas about non-traditional sexual relationships to minors.
Since the enactment of that law—which many view as the outright criminalization of homosexuality—hate crimes have reportedly gone up in the country, with many of the perpetrators using the law to justify their actions.
But, of course, it’s not just Russia stomping on the rights of the LGBTQ community. In fact, there are 82 countries in the world where homosexuality is illegal. (If you consider Russia it’s 83.)
Although Canada doesn’t make that list, it doesn’t mean it’s beyond the need for demonstrations of pride.
According to Statistics Canada, police-reported hate crimes against the LGBTQ community are the most violent in the country, with 49 per cent of victims reporting physical injuries.
And the number of these crimes is increasing. In 2011, the number of hate crimes motivated by sexual orientation increased by 10 per cent to represent 18 per cent of Canada’s total reported hate crimes.
If these numbers show nothing else, it’s that pride festivals are still necessary.
These festivals and celebrations are an opportunity for the LGBTQ community to be seen, loved and accepted. And they’re also an opportunity for members of the community to find allies and peers, so that on every other day of the year, they don’t have to feel alone.
The Jasper Pride Weekend has been accomplishing these things for the past four years, and it will continue to do so this weekend.
Jasper is known for being an accepting community, and this weekend, for the fifth time, we will again prove that we not only accept the LGBTQ community, we love them, as well.
