Twenty years ago, when Carl Nipps marched in his first Pride parade in Charleston, the participants just wanted to be seen as people.
"The first one was scary," Nipps said. "We didn't know what to expect."
Participants marched from Haddad Riverfront Park to the Capitol.
"We didn't know if people would be throwing stuff at us," Nipps said. "We made it all the way up there, and there were people lining the streets cheering.
"It was pretty amazing, but I don't ever recommend walking that far in heels," he said. "It hurt."
Marriage equality seemed a distant dream at the time. Fairness West Virginia, the state's LGBT rights advocacy organization, didn't exist. The LGBT community in the area wasn't focused on lobbying for equal rights legislation, according to Nipps. They just wanted people to stop gay-bashing and treating them like second-class citizens.
"We just wanted people to know we were here and there were a lot of us," he said. "It wasn't just the crazy uncle you never saw anymore. It was your neighbors, your friends, your family."
It took nearly two decades for advocates for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender residents to celebrate their first legal victory in the state. On Oct. 9, 2014, Gov. Earl Ray Tomblin said he would direct state agencies to follow the law as interpreted by the U.S. Supreme Court, which had refused to hear appeals of several challenges to marriage bans in other states, and county clerks were directed to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples.
They celebrated again when same-sex marriage equality became the law of the land on June 26, 2015.
This year, LGBT rights advocates say they have another victory to celebrate at West Virginia Pride - the defeat of the Religious Freedom Restoration Act, a bill introduced in the state Legislature during the last legislative session that civil rights advocates feared would result in businesses denying service to same-sex couples.
The bill would have established a balancing test for courts to follow if a business or individual alleged religious freedoms were being violated. Some RFRA supporters openly said the bill was a reaction to same-sex marriage.
After marriage equality became law, some LGBT rights advocates said they wondered whether they needed to keep having events like Pride, meant to increase the community's visibility.
That view changed after so-called "bathroom bills" started being introduced throughout the country, Nipps said. In March, North Carolina's governor signed a law prohibiting transgender residents from using public bathrooms consistent with their gender identity. Cities have also considered the bill.
RFRA nearly passing in West Virginia didn't help, either.
"We thought things would just fall into place after marriage equality arrived, because that seemed like such a huge hurdle," Nipps said. "But people always surprise you."
Like Nipps, Andrew Schneider, executive director of Fairness West Virginia, said he sees the annual Pride festival, scheduled for Saturday, as both a party and a call to action.
It's a chance to celebrate marriage equality, the numerous communities in West Virginia that have extended protections to LGBT residents and the defeat of RFRA. But Fairness West Virginia will also be there working to sign up volunteers, as they acknowledge how much farther there is to go.
Schneider said only 150,000 LGBT West Virginia residents are protected by city ordinances that prevent them from being fired or denied housing based on sexual orientation or gender identity.
And many in the state, and nation, continue to debate about bills targeting transgender residents.
"We defeated RFRA this year," Schneider said. "That doesn't mean it's not going to come back next year. Maybe it will come back in the form of a bathroom bill. We've got to be on high alert, because we know these attacks are not going to go away. We need to make it clear to everyone, whether part of the LGBT community or allies, that the fight for fairness and equality continues forward, and we need everyone involved. This is not a time for people to stand on the sidelines. We need everyone's help and support."
Pride events began in May. The parade and festival, a free event, will be held from 12:30 to 5 p.m. Saturday at Haddad Riverfront Park. For more information on other events, visit www.wvpride.org.
Reach Erin Beck at
304-348-5163, or follow
@erinbeckwv on Twitter.