The Advocate has put together a list of 150 Reasons to Have Pride in 2010. It’s a very inclusive list, and as much as I pay attention to LGBTQ news, I learned a lot!

Here are some that stood out to me.

 Because Gene Robinson won’t have to sit by himself anymore in the bishop’s cafeteria.
 Mary Glasspool, widely regarded as a brilliant and passionate Episcopal priest,  was installed as the church’s second openly gay bishop in May.

 Because family doesn’t always stick together. 
 Adam Bouska has enlisted the family of a failed Republican presidential candidate  in his “No H8” photo campaign for gay rights—with Meghan McCain and Cindy  McCain posing for his camera. If only Bouska could duct-tape the mouth of John  McCain’s former running mate…

 Because she’s left and centered.
 Rachel Maddow is the smartest person on TV. Period.
 
 Because we like assertive men. 
 Thanks to his frequent and rousing statements for marriage equality, MSNBC  commentator Keith Olbermann is our silver fox of choice.

 Because there are children who take the pledge of allegiance seriously.
 Arkansas student Will Phillips became an overnight gay rights icon when, at age  10, he refused to recite the Pledge of Allegiance until gays and lesbians achieve  full equality. This year he accepted the GLAAD Award for Outstanding TV  Journalism Segment for his appearance with his dad on CNN.

 Because hospitals have little choice but to recognize our families.
 President Obama signed a memo in April requiring all hospitals that receive  federal funding to give patients the right to determine who can visit them and who  can make medical decisions for them if they are unable to. He said, “Uniquely  affected are gay and lesbian Americans who are often barred from the bedsides of  the partners with whom they may have spent decades of their lives—unable to be  there for the person they love, and unable to act as a legal surrogate if their partner  is incapacitated.”

 Because sometimes it’s fun to frighten them.
 Adam Lambert could single-handedly topple Rupert Murdoch’s Fox media empire  and destroy the moral fiber of the country with a repeat of his American Music  Awards onstage simulated fellatio, or so it seemed when American Idol was  preparing for a return performance by its most successful gay graduate. Only a  three-second tape delay could prevent Western civilization from descending into  chaos. Good work, Idol. The globe is safe once again.

 Because we are going to prom, damn it.
 Constance McMillen took a stand for equal rights when she sued her Mississippi  school for forbidding her to take her girlfriend to prom. Derrick Martin was more  successful; after balking at first, officials at his Cochran, Ga., school are allowing  him to take his boyfriend.

 Because we’ve got Mike Mullen on our side. 
 “Mr. Chairman, speaking for myself and myself only, it is my personal belief that  allowing gays and lesbians to serve openly would be the right thing to do,” Mullen  said. “No matter how I look at the issue, I cannot escape being troubled by the fact  that we have in place a policy which forces young men and women to lie about  who they are in order to defend their fellow citizens. For me, personally, it comes  down to integrity—theirs as individuals and ours as an institution.”

 Because if Dan Choi is impatient, you should be too. 
 If handcuffing yourself to the White House fence (twice!) was all it took to end  “don’t ask, don’t tell,” a battalion of discharged troops would have already done  so. But every civil rights cause needs a symbol—a bus seat, a monk engulfed in  flames, a protest chorus of “Si, se puede!”—so thanks to Lt. Dan Choi for the  much needed visual.

 Because U. Mich. is making history.
 For the first time in its history the 40,000-student strong University of Michigan  has elected an openly gay student body president, Chris Armstrong.

 Because George W. Bush is no longer the most-talked-about elected official  from Texas.
 Annise Parker made history when the lesbian politician was elected as Houston’s  mayor.
 
 Because we fight to make sure our films are seen.
 While in years past some attempts to hold the event were shut down by police, the  Beijing Queer Film Festival went off without a hitch in July 2009. We’re awaiting  announcement of the 2010 festival.

 Because the car company we love is doing well. 
 One auto manufacturer that didn’t see a drop in sales last year but rather a 10%  increase was Subaru, which perhaps not so coincidentally has courted the gay and  lesbian market in ads and promotions for nearly 20 years.

 Because we create gems in unexpected places.
 One of the best gay clubs in New Mexico is inside an old folks’ home. The Silver  Starlight Lounge, located within Santa Fe’s gay-inclusive Rainbow Vision   retirement community, hosts events like “Trash Disco” and the “Mr. Rise n’ Shine  Bear Contest”—all just a stone’s throw from the Billie Jean King Spa and Fitness  Center.

Read the rest of the list at The Advocate!
 

~ Samantha