PrideFest America to remember victims of September 11th through Remembrance of Silence

At 1:00 p.m. during the SundayOUT Street Festival on May 5th, all participants are asked to pause for one minute to remember those we lost.

After the tragic events of September 11th, the GLBT community quickly learned that some of our own were among the thousands of lives prematurely cut short that day.

We learned that Father Mychal Judge, the NYC Fire Department Chaplain who was killed after administering last rites to a fallen firefighter, was an openly gay man. We also learned that Mark Bingham, a passenger on flight 93, participated in preventing the plane from reaching the United States Capitol, giving his own life in order to save potentially thousands -- and that Mark Bingham was a gay man.

More stories unfolded. Ronald Gamboa and Dan Brandhorst, together for 13 years, were traveling home with their 3-year-old adopted son, on flight 175. David Charlebois was the co-pilot of flight 77 which crashed into the Pentagon. Many other victims were within the World Trade Center and the Pentagon.

On Sunday, May 3rd, tens of thousands of participants are expected to attend PrideFest America's SundayOUT Street Festival centered around 12th & Locust Streets in Philadelphia. Amid the celebration at this event, we are requesting that all participants join in this Remembrance of Silence at 1:00 p.m. to remember the heroes and martyrs so abruptly taken from our community and our lives. This is the first national reflection and commemoration of the GLBT lives lost on September 11th.

We remember the heroes like Mychal Judge and Mark Bingham -- although lauded as heroes in death, as gay men they were denied civil rights in life. We remember GLBT victims like Eugene Clark, whose partner of 14 years is struggling to receive spousal benefits while insurance companies are asserting that same-sex domestic partners do not qualify as spouses.

Please join us in the Remembrance of Silence at 1:00 p.m. so we may always remember the lives we lost -- and never forget the challenges we face.