NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Saturday’s PRIDE Festival began with two men getting married before the Equality Walk.
While the festival has been an annual tradition, the timing coincided with the Supreme Court decision that made same-sex marriage legal in all states. Organizers said that gives them even more reason to celebrate.
“I really do feel equal. I mean I really feel like that weight is lifted,” Nashville PRIDE organizer Joseph Woodson said. “There's nothing in the law that says that my love, that my marriage [to] whomever I choose to marry in the future isn't just as equal as yours is.”
While the LGBT community has had a lot to celebrate, they said the fight is far from over.
“We still need to make sure we're going to continue to have the right to marry in the states,” Woodson said. “We have to continue to protect that as state legislatures and local legislatures start to fight it.”
Tennessee has been projected to generate $37 million from the legalization of same-sex marriages over the next three years according to the Williams Institute at UCLA.
“Right now if you work in a certain place you can get married to your same sex partner and be fired while you're on your honeymoon,” Lisa Howe, Executive Director of the LGBT Chamber of Commerce said.
That doesn't mean everyone will be celebrating the thousands more weddings that are expected to be planned.
“It's legal to deny business services to people based on sexual orientation and gender identity,” Howe explained.
That's why the LGBT Chamber has been helping pair couples with vendors who will participate in same sex ceremonies.
“No one wants to be that poster child couple that shows up at the bakery and the bakery won't bake your cake because it's against their deeply held religious beliefs,” she said.
There's no doubt the Supreme Court's decision was a major step for the cause. But the celebration has only been part of what this year's PRIDE Festival is all about. It's also a call to action to the LGBT community and its straight allies
“The battle is not over. There's so much more to learn,” Woodson said. “There are so many steps to make for true equality so that everybody is treated the same no matter where they are, no matter who they are, and no matter who they love.”
