EVERETT—The City of Everett becomes the first in Snohomish County, and the third in the state, to host “Love, Equally,” a public exhibit celebrating marriage equality. On display in the Everett Municipal Building, located at 2930 Wetmore Avenue, from Wednesday, June 18 until September, residents can appreciate and learn more about the history and stories of those who stood at the forefront of LGBT civil rights in Washington state. The exhibition will be open 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday to Friday.
“The City of Everett is honored to host Love, Equally – a moving tribute to resilience and love. This exhibit tells the story of people who refused to be silent, who stood up and spoke out, and who helped bend the arc of our history a little closer to justice,” said Everett Mayor Cassie Franklin. “We stand firmly in our belief that everyone deserves to live openly, safely and without fear – regardless of who they are or whom they love. Exhibits like Love, Equally honor that promise and challenge us to keep striving toward a more welcoming, compassionate and united community.”
Friday marks the beginning of Everett Pride’s annual weekend celebrations of which the exhibition will also be open on Saturday, June 21 from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. The city of Everett will be Proclaiming June as Gay Pride Month at its City Council meeting on Wednesday, June 18.
“This year we will celebrate 12 years of marriage equality in the United States and just as recent as LGBTQ+ rights have been won we are reminded why we must continue to advocate with the state of our current government administration,” Kevin Daniels, co-founder of Everett Pride, provided in a statement to the Lynnwood Times. “The transgender community continues to face constant harassment and violence which shows how much farther we have to go before we can fully love equally. We work and fight for a future where we can all be accepted for our expressions of love for one another.”
Something highlighted by “Love, Equally” is the recency of marriage equality. This is prominently displayed by the giant timeline within the exhibit: “Washington’s Journey to Marriage Equality.” As recently as 2006, Washingtonians could be discriminated against based on their “sexual orientation” or “gender identity” for “jobs, housing, lending and insurance.”
The exhibit features pioneers such as Army Colonel Margarethe Cammermeyer, who was discharged for stating the truth in a top-clearance application that she was a lesbian. Five years later, a federal judge reinstated Cammermeyer, ruling that her discharge was “grounded solely in prejudice.” The television movie, “Serving in Silence: The Margarethe Cammermeyer Story,” starring Glenn Close and Judy Davis, was based on Cammermeyer’s firsthand experience leading to her retirement.
Also commemorated are Pete Francis who successfully pushed for decriminalization laws against homosexuality in Washington state back in 1975; Cal Anderson, the first openly gay legislator in Washington state who championed bills related to AIDS funding and fought against anti-gay initiatives; John Singer and Paul Barwick who were the first gay couple in the state to apply for a marriage license in 1971 but were denied; Representative Maureen Lucille Katherine Stewart Walsh, a Republican elected official who in 2012 advocated for marriage equality; journalist David Ammons and so many more.
“When you go through and look at these photos, you can’t tell who is gay and who is not in this world… Just walking through shows how normalizing and beautiful it is and bring perspective,” Nichole Webber, Director of Communications with the City of Everett, told the Lynnwood Times.
Webber shared that having the exhibition here in Everett aligns to with the city being supportive and welcoming to the LGBTQ community.
“We get to contribute something that government has done positively alongside our partners that are going to have a great event [this weekend,” Webber added.
When marriage equality appeared on the state ballot in November 2012, LGBTQ advocates shifted the debate to that of mutual respect and matters of the heart. Instead of arguing about discrimination and privacy, pioneers stressed that gay couples simply wanted the same white-picket fences, homey routines, and devoted commitments as heterosexuals. Advocating shared “family values,” the message was condensed into a single word: Love.
On February 13, 2012, Washington State Governor Christine Gregoire signed into law full marriage rights for gays and lesbians. In November 2012, Washington voters approved legalizing same-sex marriage with Referendum 74, by a vote of 54% to 46%, after the law signed by Governor Gregoire it was contested. Same-sex marriages have been recognized in Washington state since that law took effect on December 6, 2012.
“The fight didn’t start that year. The fight started three decades before,” said Gov. Gregoire. “Decades of bills that were introduced. Decades of pieces of legislation that had been fought for. Decades where lawsuits had been brought in front of the Supreme Court. All of which was not a failure, but a step forward to that very day in which we did sign the bill.”
On December 9, 2012, by then-King County Superior Court Judge and now current State Supreme Court Justice Mary Yu, Sarah and Emily Cofer were the first gay couple to be legally married in Washington state at the King County Courthouse in Seattle at 12:01 a.m.
“The success of the marriage equality movement stunned even its advocates at the time,” Secretary of State Steve Hobbs said. “The transformation from ‘outlaws to in-laws’ was one of the swiftest turnarounds in U.S. civil rights history. I am honored to have voted in support of marriage equality as a State Senator in 2012, and I am proud our state was a trailblazer in the national movement toward same-sex marriage recognition.”
Prior to Everett, the “Love, Equally,” debuted on Valentine’s Day of 2023 at the State Reception Room of the Legislative Building in Olympia, where it remained for two years before moving to the Karshner Museum and Center for Culture & Arts in Puyallup for February 2025. “Love, Equally” was put together by Legacy Washington, a program within the Washington State Archives and Office of the Secretary of State.
Proclamation recognizing Pride month
The Cit of Everett will recognize June as Pride Month 2025 with a proclamation on June 18. The month of June was first recognized as Pride Month in 1969 when on June 28 the Stonewall riots in New York City sparked the civil rights movement for the LGBTQ+ community.
Since then, Pride celebrations, honoring the fight for equality have been observed in cities all over the country. Pride didn’t simply start with the Stonewall Rebellion, below were other monumental events that contributed to gay liberation over the decades:
- The founding of the Society for Human Rights by Henry Gerber in Chicago in the 1920s.
- In 1973 the American Psychiatric Association no longer classifying homosexuality as a mental illness.
- In 2001, Washington state began providing benefits to same-sex partners of state employees.
- In 2007, Washington state recognized state-registered domestic partnerships.
- Signed into law by President Barack Obama on October 28, 2009, the Mathew Shepard and James Byrd Jr Hate Crimes Prevention Act classified intentional targeting of gay and marginalized peoples for crime as a hate crime.
- In July of 2011, President Barack Obama’s repeal of the “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell policy” allowing gays to serve in the military went into effect.
- February 13, 2012, Washington State Governor Christine Gregoire signing into law full marriage rights for gays and lesbians. In November 2012, Washington voters approved the law in Referendum 74, by a vote of 54% to 46%, after it was contested. Same-sex marriages have been recognized in Washington state since that law took effect on December 6, 2012.
- Between 2013 and 2015, the United States Supreme Court ruled the Defense of Marriage Act unconstitutional, stating that same-sex couples have a constitutional right to marry.
- On August 1, 2016, Seattle voted to ban conversion therapy on minors.
- On June 7, 2018, Governor Jay Inslee signed SB-5722, banning the practice of conversion therapy in Washington state. The bill was sponsored by Senator Marko Liias (D-Edmonds).
- In April 2019, the Washington State Legislature passed a bill establishing the Washington state LGBTQ commission.
- In March 2024, Washington State Governor Jay Inslee signed SB-5462 into law “mandating gay history and other similar related content curriculums” to be taught by teachers within all state-based schools, colleges and classrooms.
Recognizing June as Pride Month 2025 is consistent with the city’s commitment to being a safe, welcoming, and equitable place for all people regardless of race, ethnicity, socioeconomic status, age, sexual orientation, gender identification, country of origin, or any other identity.
Editor’s Note: George Ftikas, Jr. contributed to this article.
Author: Mario Lotmore
2 Responses
Homosexuality is sin! God says in His word it is a sin that is a mark of a nation and people under His judgment. “ For this reason God gave them over to degrading passions; for their women exchanged the natural function for that which is unnatural and in the same way also the men abandoned the natural function of the woman and burned in their desire toward one another, men with men committing indecent acts and receiving in fntheir own persons the due penalty of their error…and although they know the ordinance of God, that those who practice such things are worthy of death, they not only do the same, but also give hearty approval to those who practice them.” Romans 1:26-27, 31.
You are those people! You are giving hearty approval to that which God calls sin! And you are calling that which God calls evil, you call it good! I urge you all to repent and turn from your sins!
The bible is not the word of God. It is the writings of men and not reflective of life as it exists today. Please don’t be such a poor neighbor.
https://wherepeteris.com/why-all-christians-should-support-lgbtq-persons/