Ret. Lt. Col. Bob Alexander stayed closeted in the Air Force for 20 years because of the "don't ask, don't tell" policy. He came out when the policy ended, and when he retired, he decided to help those who weren't discharged honorably because of their sexual orientation. He resides in Washington D.C., and works as a cybersecurity attorney. Keren Carrión/NPR hide caption
A sign for The New York Times hangs above the entrance to its building on May 6, 2021 in New York. Mark Lennihan/AP hide caption
The Miami-Dade County Public School Board voted against making October LGBTQ History Month. The board voted in favor of observing the history month last year, but reversed its decision to align with Florida's Parental Rights in Education bill. Miami-Dade County Public School Board screen grab hide caption
J.K Rowling has said publicly that her new book was not based on her own life, even though some of the events that take place in the story did in fact happen to her as she was writing it. Tolga Akmen/AFP via Getty Images hide caption
Tina Kotek speaks during Day 1 of the Democratic National Convention at the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, July 25, 2016. On Tuesday, she won Oregon's gubernatorial Democratic primary. If she wins in November, Kotek will be the nation's first openly lesbian governor. ROBYN BECK/AFP via Getty Images hide caption
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis displays the signed Parental Rights in Education, the so-called "Don't Say Gay" bill, flanked by elementary school students during a news conference on Monday at Classical Preparatory school in Shady Hills, Fla. Douglas R. Clifford/Tampa Bay Times via AP hide caption
Nigerian writer Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie in Paris in Jan. 2020. Christophe Archambault/AFP via Getty Images hide caption
The new measure signed by New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo Tuesday bans an old law that resulted in decades of discrimination by police against women of color and people who are transgender. Angela Weiss/AFP via Getty Images hide caption
Virtual worship services announcement at United Methodist Church in Moscow, Idaho. The denomination, with some 13 million members worldwide, is experiencing a major internal rift over same-sex marriage and LGBTQ clergy. Education Images/Education Images/Universal Image hide caption
Supporters of LGBTQ rights took to the street in a demonstration in front of the U.S. Supreme Court last October. Manuel Balce Ceneta/AP hide caption
Tristan Vaught (left) and Nancy Dawson are the co-founders of clothing exchange Transform. A 17-year-old client Elliot Reed (far right) was the first customer when the space opened. Ann Thompson/WVXU hide caption
Marchers at a candlelight vigil in San Francisco, Calif., carry a banner to call attention to the continuing battle against AIDS on May 29, 1989. The city was home to the nation's first AIDS special care unit. The unit, which opened in 1983, is the subject the documentary 5B. Jason M. Grow/AP hide caption
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints announced Thursday that it will no longer consider people in same-sex marriages to be apostates. Here, a pride flag flies in front of the Historic Mormon Temple in Salt Lake City as part of a 2015 protest of the church's LGBT policies. George Frey/Getty Images hide caption
A photo illustration of the Grindr app is displayed on a smartphone in Berlin, Germany, in February. Thomas Trutschel/Photothek via Getty Images hide caption
People celebrate the 48th annual Gay and Lesbian Pride Parade in June in Chicago. Activists say they hope the Illinois law banning the "gay panic" defense will lead to similar measures in other states. Kamil Krzaczynski/AFP/Getty Images hide caption
Phoenix residents Laurie Provost (left), 53, and Maddie Adelman, 50, have watched their city become increasingly welcoming toward the LGBTQ community over the last two decades, even as their state has kept in place anti-LGBTQ policies and laws. Will Stone/KJZZ hide caption
LGBTQ people of color are twice as likely as their white counterparts to say they've been discriminated against because they are LGBTQ in applying for jobs and interacting with police. Spencer Platt/Getty Images hide caption
Nick Vargas talks with Dr. Kathryn Hall at The Source, an LGBT center in Visalia, Calif. Hall says that time and time again, her patients tell her they're afraid to come out to their other doctors. Ezra David Romero/Valley Public Radio hide caption
Harrison Browne, seen here playing for the Buffalo Beauts, says he feels lucky to be part of a league that accepts him and wants him to feel comfortable. Courtesy of the National Women's Hockey League hide caption
Even after the Supreme Court legalized same-sex marriage, there have been efforts to pass a religious freedom bill. LGBTQ rights advocates believe lawmakers anticipate support from the Trump administration. Alex Wong/Getty Images hide caption
President Trump has decided to leave in place President Barack Obama's 2014 executive order protecting employees from anti-LGBTQ workplace discrimination while working for federal contractors. Here, a marcher in New York's Gay Pride march wears a modified version of a Trump campaign hat last summer. Bryan R. Smith/AFP/Getty Images hide caption