On Friday, June 26th, the United States Supreme Court ruled in the case of Obergefell v. Hodges that two people of the same sex have a right to marry in all 50 states, and that such marriages must be recognized when lawfully performed out of state. This landmark ruling was celebrated in a burst of rainbows across the internet, and in much of the offline world. A solid show of support came from the White House, where a crowd was gathered at dusk when the lights came on to illuminate the building in a rainbow of colors . You can see a time-lapse video of the illumination. It's number one on our list, but it was far from the only such display.Â
#NYCPride pic.twitter.com/FRfz8CFlXY
One World Trade shines with #pride for this historic moment for #equality . #NYC #LoveWins pic.twitter.com/XzogpJiM1J
The rainbow became a symbol of the gay rights movement in 1978. San Francisco artist Gilbert Baker designed a rainbow flag at the request of city council member Harvey Milk, who had become the first openly gay politician elected to high public office in an American city just a year earlier. Milk asked Baker to come up with âa symbol of prideâ for the gay community. Baker made his first flag with fabrics heâd dyed himself, with eight colored stripes, each symbolizing a different facet of life.
BREAKING: #Minneapolis joins the party. The 35-W bridge is lit up all weekend. #LoveWins pic.twitter.com/YBC9l2oAso
Gilbert Bakerâs rainbow flags were first used in the 1978 Gay Freedom Day Parade in San Francisco. Afterward, the flag went into mass production, but since hot pink fabric was in short supply, the stripes were reduced to seven. For the 1979 parade, the flag colors were split and half were posted on each side of the street. For simplicityâs sake, the six colors used were codified into the current flag, which follows the rainbow color scheme.
The symbolism lies in the rainbow of colors itself, not limited to the flag form. To show support for the LGBT rights movement, the spectrum took over websites, social media avatars, and symbols of all kinds. This includes buildings that are lighted at night. Just the addition or rearrangement of a few colored light bulbs (or more likely, LEDS) threw a rainbow of colors onto public and private buildings and landmarks. Some of the light shows were already planned for PRIDE celebrations this weekend. When the Supreme Court decision came down, it only meant turning the light show on a day earlier than planned.
Okay, last rainbow-related tweet-- I promise! Niagara Falls: Waterfall of Rainbows #rainbowseverywhere #loveoverload pic.twitter.com/Th7YBhyBMp
El Capitolio de Puerto Rico se ilumina con los colores de la bandera lgbt. ¡Llego la Igualdad Puerto Rico! #LoveWins pic.twitter.com/H5BTAdGyOA
Seattle's Ferris wheel glows in rainbow colors tonight! pic.twitter.com/9aomYrwtfI
The Denver City and County Building tonight. #SCOTUSMarriage #9news pic.twitter.com/y7fUqd8lFz
Current view. #ThisIsCLE #retrosign #playhousesquare pic.twitter.com/lu3MR0fNUk
And now the #California State Capitol is lit up in rainbow tonight #MarriageEquaility #Sacramento #SCOTUSmarriage pic.twitter.com/CljZE76X4B
#SanFrancisco International Airport saying it loud and proud... pic.twitter.com/IZDoJgr2QN
The cityâs own Twitter account has a big image of this illumination as its banner.
Grace Cathedral lit in #rainbow b/c #LoveWins . Come to #MarriageEquality Evensong July 2: http://t.co/MJdAaEvKcM pic.twitter.com/PU8sdjOpva
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