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Fun For Family At Pride: Annual LGBTQ Festival Returns To Magic City

Nicole Goubeaux (left) with her wife, Shauna Goubeaux, and their son, Aden. The Goubeaux's were litigants in the 2014 lawsuit to overturn Montana's same-sex marriage ban.
Courtesy of Shauna Goubeaux.
Nicole Goubeaux (left) with her wife, Shauna Goubeaux, and their son, Aden. The Goubeaux's were litigants in the 2014 lawsuit to overturn Montana's same-sex marriage ban.
Nicole Goubeaux (left) with her wife, Shauna Goubeaux, and their son, Aden. The Goubeaux's were litigants in the 2014 lawsuit to overturn Montana's same-sex marriage ban.
Credit Courtesy of Shauna Goubeaux.
Nicole Goubeaux (left) with her wife, Shauna Goubeaux, and their son, Aden. The Goubeaux's were litigants in the 2014 lawsuit to overturn Montana's same-sex marriage ban.

Big Sky Pride kicks off today in Billings. It’s the first time in nine years that the state’s annual pride festivities will take place in our region’s largest urban center.YPR’sBrie Ripley spoke with members of the festival planning committee about the festival’s history and what folks can expect from this weekend’s celebration.

*This story has been updated since original publication 6/16/17 at 2:45 p.m. for clarity; an original version did not make clear who the members of the Big Sky Pride Festival planning committee were.

Cole Kortum, a manager at the Colstrip Power Plant, self-identifies as a "bear," which is a colloquial term in the LGBTQ community for bearded, burly gay men.
Credit Courtesy of Cole Kortum.
Cole Kortum, a manager at the Colstrip Power Plant, self-identifies as a "bear," which is a colloquial term in the LGBTQ community for bearded, burly gay men.

ColeKortumis a bear. Gay, bearded men likeKortum, aColstripworker, sometimes call themselves "bears." Many of these guys, gals and gender non-binary folks are headed to Billings this weekend for the annualBig Sky Pride festival.Billings Mayor Tom Hanel recently issued a Pride Proclamation, an important document affirming the safety of those who participate in Pride Festival activities. It is co-written every year between members of the festivals planning committee and members of city council, wherever the weekend-long festivities are held.

Walt Donges of Billings helped draft the rhetoric for it.

“Pride Proclamation is important because it sets the stage for the city and how they’re going to embrace the guests,” said Donges.

Walt Donges, who organizes a Yellowstone County chapter of the international gay organization called "Prime Timers," helped shape the rhetoric for this year's Pride Proclamation.
Credit Courtesy of Walt Donges.
Walt Donges, who organizes a Yellowstone County chapter of the international gay organization called "Prime Timers," helped shape the rhetoric for this year's Pride Proclamation.

“We are hoping for at least 3,000 guests to come the city to partake in this celebration and the proclamation in and of itself recognizes families, recognizes that we are all one community in Billings, and the work that’s being done, and that we are safe here as we celebrate our diversity.”The proclamation is especially important because in 2014 the Billings City Council did not pass a Non-Discrimination Ordinance that would have protected LGBTQ-identifying folks.

Shauna Goubeaux, who is also a member of the festival planning committee, says that this year’s proclamation is opening the door to moving equality in the city.

“And it’s the foundation for us building permanent LGBTQ community resources here in Billings as part of Pride but safety is an issue in Billings and all across Montana because we are more of a conservative state,” said Goubeaux. 

Credit Courtesy of Big Sky Pride 2017

Goubeaux and her wife, Nicole, were litigants in the 2014 lawsuit filed in U.S. District Court in Great Falls seeking to overturn the state's ban on same-sex marriage

The Great Falls Tribune reports that on Nov. 19, 2014, U.S. District Judge Brian Morris ruled Montana’s constitutional amendment limiting marriage to between a man and a woman violates the 14th Amendment’s Equal Protection Clause. 

According to the Bozeman Daily Chronicle, U.S. Senator John Tester (D-MT) said, “Montanans believe in the right to make a good life for their families,” regarding the legalization of same-sex marriage in the state. “And denying some couples the right to marry denies them happiness and equal protection under the law. It’s time our laws reflect our values,” Tester said. 

The Supreme Court declared same-sex marriage legal in all 50 states in a 5-4 ruling June 26, 2015. 

“People fear things that are different," said Goubeaux. "So sometimes they think thatLGBTQpeople are different, and hopefully, with this Pride celebration, they’ll see that we’re just the same members of the community that they see every day. They’ll see us with our children and our grandchildren and our spouses and our friends, having a huge party, just celebrating what it’s all about. But it’s important to remember that Pride was a riot. It was founded by a riot to prevent persecution forLGBTQpeople and that’s part of our history.”The riots that Goubeaux refer to took place on June 28, 1969 in New York City. They’re called “The Stonewall Riots” because they started at the Stonewall Inn, a popular bar and kind of safe haven for LGBTQ folks. According to the American Civil Liberties Union, Pride Festival’s across the nation are a way to remember the senseless violence, discrimination and raids by police on LGBTQ folks at perceived safe spaces – like nightclubs, and bars like the Stonewall Inn.   

“The patrons of that bar stood up and fought back I think for three days of rioting and that was the birth of what we call ‘The Pride Movement – The Gay Movement,'” said Donges, who remembers watching the riots on TV when he was 10-years-old.

Annual Pride Festivals are also a celebration of how far the LGBTQ community have come in their efforts, and their allies efforts, for inclusivity and equality.

For this year’s Big Sky Pride Festival, the focus is on family.

In addition to Goubeaux, Morgan Ditto, Kim Harris, along with Casey and Kathleen O’Donnell have been working since November to plan over 40 events celebrating Pride this weekend. 

They have planned specific activities and events geared towards teenagers and children, along with copious adult fun. Events are ongoing between Fri. and Sun. at various businesses and venues in Billings. The public is invited.

A schedule of events is available here

Copyright 2017 Yellowstone Public Radio

Brie Ripley
Brie Ripley got her start at KUOW Public Radio in Seattle as a work-study student in 2013. She graduated with her degree in Journalism and Anthropology from the University of Washington and began freelancing. Her work has appeared on KNKX Seattle’s “Sound Effect;” KUOW Public Radio’s “The Record,” “Speakers Forum,” and “Local Wonder;” and in the multi-station project, “American Homefront.” Ripley produces the grant-funded radio documentary series “Tie My Tubes” and derives her passion for radio reporting from listening to "This American Life" and reading the works of Tom Robbins while growing up. She moved to Billings in the summer of 2016.
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