RALEIGH, NC -- Governor Roy Cooper has proclaimed June as LGBTQ+ Pride Month to honor North Carolina’s LGBTQ+ community and the ongoing fight for equality. This year, the Governor is also recognizing the aging LGBTQ+ population who pioneered the fight for equal rights for decades and face unique social and health challenges as they grow older.

“This month, we celebrate LGBTQ+ North Carolinians who make our state stronger even in the face of targeted attacks,” said Governor Cooper. “We salute the pioneers whose decades-long fight for equality has brought great progress, yet we recognize that prejudice and hatred still persist and must not prevail.”

LGBTQ+ elders have been at the forefront of the fight for equality for decades. These pioneers now face unique challenges as they grow older. Reports show older LGBTQ+ people are at a higher risk for social isolation, discrimination and neglect as well as often struggling to find competent inclusive health care.

LGBTQ+ Pride Month is celebrated nationwide in June to honor the riots that took place at the Stonewall Inn on June 28, 1969 in New York, which is commonly recognized as the birth of the modern LGBTQ+ rights movement.

Several major United States Supreme Court rulings granting or strengthening LGBTQ+ rights have been decided during the month of June including United States v. Windsor (June 26, 2013) which struck down Section 3 of the Defense of Marriage Act that denied federal recognition of same-sex marriages, Obergefell v. Hodges (June 26, 2015) which guaranteed marriage equality for same-sex couples and Bostock v. Clayton County (June 15, 2020) which determined that gay, lesbian, and transgender employees are protected from discrimination based on sexuality or gender identity.

Governor Cooper is committed to making North Carolina a safer and more inclusive place for everyone and has taken meaningful steps to protect the rights of LGBTQ+ individuals, including establishing the first Office of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion in a North Carolina Governor’s Office.

In 2017, Governor Cooper issues Executive Order No. 24 which prohibits discrimination in the Governor’s Administration on the basis of sex, sexual orientation and gender identity. The Executive Order also established the NC Commission on Inclusion which advises policies to promote inclusion and address discrimination and harassment.

In 2019, Governor Cooper issued Executive Order No. 97 which banned state funding for conversion therapy for minors.

In 2023, Governor Cooper issued Executive Order No. 280 which directed action to continue the state’s commitment to building an age-friendly state. From this order, the All Ages, All Stages NC: A Roadmap for Living and Aging Well planning process launched to address the needs of North Carolina’s growing, diverse aging population.

Read the proclamation here.