I'm of the belief that no matter what your identity, everyone should celebrate Pride. This summer we saw images of Pride celebrations taking place throughout the country and other countries—glorious rainbow waving Pride parades in the big cities and the little towns. Pride used to be the annual event in the U.S.—commemorating the 1969 Stonewall Inn riot and protest—was only in big cities with large LGBT communities. Now, for the most part Pride parades and celebrations are part of the fabric of many communities. In Tucson, we celebrate Pride in October rather than June because we forgot that people used to live in this town without AC. OK, so it was a sensible decision, but sensible is boring. However, we make up for it with a great parade and the weekend of activities we call Pride in the Desert. All of this, dear reader, bring us to this issue, our Pride issue. A few years ago we used to run a quarterly Pride issue, a cover package on LGBT people and issues. I loved working on that issue. This year, we're bringing it back to coincide with Pride festivities. We write about LGBT issues and news all year, because our LGBT community is important to us. However, it's great to be back celebrating Pride with everyone. This year's issue, besides a great story from Anna Mirocha on the parade and things to do, focuses on transgender-related issues and people in our community. Some days it seems as if 2015 has been the year of transgender topped with Caitlyn Jenner's well-publicized transition. However, those who are close to people who have transitioned, know that it's not that easy and doesn't come with a big media welcome. There are challenges. Tucson is lucky. The Southern Arizona Gender Alliance has been a force in working with the community and being there to offer support. From SAGA we have a group of activists, people the Tucson Weekly has come to rely on to remind us about more than just the proper terminology (thank you), but that in the end, we're all just people: neighbors, friends and coworkers. I'm lucky you're in my life and I want to wish everyone a happy Pride!
— Mari Herreras, mherreras@tucsonweekly.com
