President Obama has officially declared the month of June “Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender (LGBT) Pride Month” in an attempt to eradicate prejudice and to celebrate the diversity of the American people.

The proposal of making June the LGBT pride month pays homage to the 1969 Greenwich Village riots at the Stonewall Inn, where gay rights proponents fought against armed New York City Police over discrimination.

Also, June of 2011 marks the 30-year anniversary of the HIV/AIDS epidemic, which has had a huge impact on the status and reputation of the LGBT community. Although steps towards finding a cure for AIDS/HIV have been made, the same cannot be said for LGBT rights.

As of June 2011, only Connecticut, Iowa, Massachusetts New Hampshire, Vermont and Washington D.C. allow LGBT Americans to marry. Although some states have tried to introduce gay marriage rights, all of the proposals have been shot down by voters.

This is not the first pro-LGBT act that Obama has proclaimed in his presidency. Obama signed the repeal of the “Don’t ask, Don’t Tell” policy in the U.S. military, allowing gay and lesbian Americans to serve openly in the armed forces.

Obama has taken steps to allow LGBT Americans to visit their loved ones in the hospital (oftentimes visitors are legal family only), appointed LGBT Americans to executive and judicial branch office positions and led a global campaign to include “sexual orientation” to the United Nations resolution on extrajudicial execution.

Obama has placed a huge emphasis on the acceptance of LGBT Americans and combating the sexually transmitted infection HIV. Obama believes that a lot of the negative connotation of LGBT Americans stem from a mixed reaction and misunderstanding of AIDS, the death-causing immuno-deficiency disorder that often stems from HIV.

In 2010, Obama delivered his first National HIV/AIDS Strategy for the United States. The strategy not only focuses on approaches for finding a cure, but also educating the public. Obama wants to inform Amercians that although LGBT Americans statistically have a higher demographic of those affected by the disease, they are not its cause.

Still, it is unclear where Obama intends to go from here. One of the greatest concerns that LGBT Americans have is the ability to marry. Obama has stated that he is both for and against same-sex marriage, and has stated that his position on the issue is “evolving.”

The president is not alone in celebrating and advocating gay rights. On June 1, the Federal Reserve Bank of Virginia raised a rainbow flag to honor gay pride. The Bank received a letter from General Assemblyman Robert G. Marshall urging the bank to take down the flag.

In his letter, Marshall writes how homosexuality contributes to illness, increased health costs, venereal disease and population imbalance. He also writes that “this is a celebration of a behavior that is still a Class 6 felony in Virginia.

Yet amidst all of the backlash and speculation, LGBT Americans can be assured that June will be their month to show pride not just as homosexuals, but as Americans.