The last five years have brought momentous change to the LGBT movement. Here, Blade Photo Editor Michael Key looks back on some of his favorite photos from that period.
The 2009 National Equality March draws thousands on Oct. 11 to the U.S. Capitol.President Barack Obama signs the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd, Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act on Oct. 22, 2009.D.C. Mayor Adrian Fenty signs the Religious Freedom And Civil Marriage Equality Amendment Act of 2009 in a ceremony at All Souls Church, Unitarian on Dec. 18.Washington state residents Cheryl Cristello, Barbara Sehr and Krystal Mountaine walk to their senators’ offices to share their stories and lobby for the trans-inclusive Employment Non-Discrimination Act on March 16, 2010.Lt. Dan Choi handcuffs himself to the White House fence in protest of the U.S. military’s ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’ policy on March 18, 2010.Protesters hold a demonstration in the United States Capitol on June 28, 2010 to call for passage of the Employment Non-Discrimination Act.A man stands with signs made of empty pill bottles to advocate for the funding of the AIDS Drug Assistance Program at Lafayette Park on Sept. 29, 2010.House Speaker Nancy Pelosi embraces open military service activist Mike Almy at a signing ceremony for ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’ repeal on Dec. 21, 2010.President Barack Obama signs the repeal of the U.S. military’s ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’ policy on Dec. 22, 2010.Out legislator Del. Mary Washington speaks at the Maryland House of Delegates debate on the Civil Marriage Protection Act on March 11, 2011.Marines at Quantico are given training on the military’s new policy of open service on May 23, 2011.President Barack Obama leads a Joint Session of Congress on Sept. 9, 2011.A memorial for LGBT rights pioneer Frank Kameny is held on Nov. 3, 2011.Activists march in front of the D.C. Metropolitan Police Department for Transgender Day of Action on Nov. 17, 2011.Barb Brehm and Kären Rasmussen are joined by religious leaders at the Fairfax County Courthouse where they are denied a marriage license by state authorities on Feb. 14, 2012.Gov. Martin O’Malley (D-Md.) signs the Civil Marriage Protection Act on March 1, 2012, legalizing same-sex marriage in Maryland.A ‘silent march’ to protest a spate of anti-LGBT assaults in D.C. wound through the streets of Columbia Heights on March 20, 2012.Actor Hal Sparks speaks at a rally for Social Security reform next to the U.S. Capitol on April 26, 2012.Thousands of activists gather in Lafayette Square at the ‘We Can End AIDS’ rally on July 24, 2012 during the International AIDS Conference held in Washington, D.C.Openly-gay performer Adam Lambert headlines a fundraiser for Marylanders for Marriage Equality at the 9:30 Club on Sept. 25, 2012.Clayton Zook and Wayne MacKenzie are married on Tilghman Island in Maryland on Jan 1, 2013.A rally and march calling for the overturning of Proposition 8 is held at the U.S. Supreme Court on March 26, 2013.Edie Windsor, lead plaintiff in the landmark Supreme Court case Windsor v. U.S., stands in front of the court on March 27, 2013.Couples from states that had yet to legalize same-sex marriage are married in front of the U.S. Supreme Court on June 21, 2013. Washington, D.C. had legalized same-sex marriage citywide in 2009.A young couple is married in front of the U.S. Supreme Court on June 21, 2013.The Proposition 8 Plaintiffs with lawyer David Boies and Human Rights Campaign President Chad Griffin celebrate following their victory at the U.S. Supreme Court on June 26, 2013.D.C. Mayor Vincent Gray presides over a wedding at the Wilson D.C. Government Building on Nov. 19, 2013.A sign in a store window in Laurel, Miss. announces that the proprietors do not discriminate against LGBT people. A law passed in Mississippi had been seen as giving business owners the right to discriminate.A group of Russian and Ukrainian LGBT activists and their supporters gather at Dupont Circle to hold a protest against anti-LGBT violence and laws in Russia during the Sochi Winter Olympics on Feb. 22, 2014.The design for the Harvey Milk forever stamp is unveiled at the Eisenhower Executive Office Building on May 22, 2014.The Opening Ceremonies of the 2014 Gay Games are held in Cleveland on Aug. 9.A group of transgender activists hold a vigil for victims of anti-trans violence in front of the Walter E. Washington Convention Center on Sept. 27, 2014.
Stickers on the door to the offices of the Háttér Society, a Hungarian LGBTQ rights group, in Budapest, Hungary, on April 4, 2024. (Washington Blade photo by Michael K. Lavers)
BERLIN — The Washington Blade was on assignment in Hungary, Poland, and Germany from April 2-16.
The Blade interviewed LGBTQ activists, government officials, and refugees from Ukraine who have resettled in Berlin and in Warsaw, the Polish capital. The Blade also visited Auschwitz in Oświęcim, Poland.
A billboard at Budapest Ferenc Liszt International Airport in Budapest, Hungary, on April 2, 2024, proclaims the country to be “family-friendly.” (Washington Blade photo by Michael K. Lavers)Part of the Shoes on the Danube Bank, a memorial to Hungarian Jewish people who the Arrow Cross Party, a fascist Hungarian militia, massacred during World War II. (Washington Blade photo by Michael K. Lavers)Posters on the Dohány Street Synagogue’s fence in Budapest, Hungary, with pictures of Israelis who Hamas militants from the Gaza Strip took hostage on Oct. 7, 2023. Carmel Gat’s sister-in-law, Yarden Roman-Gat, was among the hostages released last November. Roman-Gat’s brother, Gili Roman, is a gay man who lives in Tel Aviv, Israel. (Washington Blade photo by Michael K. Lavers)A falafel restaurant in Budapest, Hungary, with a decal on the window that notes it welcomes LGBTQ customers. (Washington Blade photo by Michael K. Lavers)The drink menu at CoXx, a gay cruising bar in Budapest, Hungary. (Washington Blade photo by Michael K. Lavers)An anti-transgender book for sale in a bookstore in Budapest, Hungary, on April 4, 2024. (Washington Blade photo by Michael K. Lavers)The Hungarian Parliament in Budapest, Hungary, on April 4, 2024. Prime Minister Viktor Orbán and his government over the last decade has cracked down on LGBTQ rights in the country. (Washington Blade photo by Michael K. Lavers)A UNHCR-affiliated community center for refugees in Kraków, Poland, on April 5, 2024. (Washington Blade photo by Michael K. Lavers)A picture of Polish-born Pope John Paul II inside St. Catherine of Alexandria Church in Kraków, Poland. The Roman Catholic Church remains a powerful institution in Poland. (Washington Blade photo by Michael K. Lavers)An anti-Russian President Vladimir Putin sticker on a streetlight in Kraków, Poland, on April 6, 2024. (Washington Blade photo by Michael K. Lavers)Posters at Lindo Bar, a gay bar in Kraków, Poland. (Washington Blade photo by Michael K. Lavers)Patrons at Lindo Bar, a gay bar in Kraków, Poland, on April 6, 2024. (Washington Blade photo by Michael K. Lavers)Magda Dropek votes in Kraków, Poland, on April 7, 2024. (Photo courtesy or Dropek’s X account)Auschwitz I camp in Oświęcim, Poland, on April 7, 2024. (Washington Blade photo by Michael K. Lavers)
A mural in Warsaw, Poland. (Washington Blade photo by Michael K. Lavers)La Pose, a gay bar in Warsaw, Poland. (Washington Blade photo by Michael K. Lavers)The Warsaw House Foundation on April 8, 2024, hosted a clothes swap for transgender people at La Pose. (Washington Blade photo by Michael K. Lavers)
Drag queens entertain patrons of La Pose, a gay bar in Warsaw, Poland, on April 8, 2024, during a broadcast of an episode of “Czas na Show” or “Drag Me Out,” a reality show that features male Polish celebrities performing in drag with drag queens. (Washington Blade video by Michael K. Lavers)International News Editor Michael K. Lavers interviews gay Deputy Polish Justice Minister Krzysztof Śmiszek at his office in Warsaw, Poland, on April 9, 2024. (Photo courtesy of Patryk Janczewski)The Polish Sejm in Warsaw, Poland. (Washington Blade photo by Michael K. Lavers)Mirosława Makuchowska of Kampania Przeciw Homofobii, a Polish LGBTQ rights group, at her organization’s offices in Warsaw, Poland, on April 10, 2024. (Washington Blade photo by Michael K. Lavers)Pride flags fly from an apartment’s terrace in Warsaw, Poland, on April 11, 2024. (Washington Blade photo by Michael K. Lavers)The Ukrainian and Pride flags in Warsaw House Foundation’s apartment in Warsaw, Poland, on April 11, 2024. (Washington Blade photo by Michael K. Lavers)Drag queens perform at Ramona Bar, a gay bar in Warsaw, Poland, on April 11, 2024. (Washington Blade photo by Michael K. Lavers)A poster for a sex workers rally in Berlin. (Washington Blade photo by Michael K. Lavers)A memorial to Ukrainians who have died during Russia’s war against their country in Berlin on April 13, 2024. The memorial was across the street from the Russian Embassy. (Washington Blade photo by Michael K. Lavers)Lunch in Berlin’s Tiergarten park on April 13, 2024. (Washington Blade photo by Michael K. Lavers)A gender-neutral bathroom at SchwuZ, an LGBTQ club in Berlin. (Washington Blade photo by Michael K. Lavers)
Performers at SchwuZ on April 14, 2024. (Washington Blade video by Michael K. Lavers)A pro-Palestinian sticker near Checkpoint Charlie in Berlin on April 14, 2024. (Washington Blade photo by Michael K. Lavers)The Canadian Embassy in Berlin on April 15, 2024. (Washington Blade photo by Michael K. Lavers)Dmitry Shapoval, a gay Ukrainian man with HIV, in Berlin on April 15, 2024. He fled Ukraine in March 2022 after Russia launched its war against his country. (Washington Blade photo by Michael K. Lavers)The menu at Felixx, a gay bar in Vienna (Washington Blade photo by Michael K. Lavers)A picture of former President Donald Trump in a New York courtroom on the front page of Die Presse, an Austrian newspaper, on April 16, 2024. (Washington Blade photo by Michael K. Lavers)
