On Sunday, the 40th anniversary of the Stonewall riots, Seattle jubilantly erupted in its annual celebration of LGBTQ pride. Despite the hoopla, however, we must remember that the members of our LGBTQ community remain second-class citizens even today. At the parade, members of the King County Democrats held portraits of the elected leaders with a long history of championing gay rights. Pictures of Chris Gregoire, Joe McDermott, Jim McDermott, Deb Eddy and Ed Murray all swayed in the hands of exuberant Democrats alongside that of only one candidate in the upcoming race for King County Executive.

That candidate, Dow Constantine, has battled for the equal rights of all citizens harder and longer than any candidate in this race. Since his days in the state legislature, this has been his fight. He co-sponsored the Washington State Civil Rights Act, led the opposition to DOMA, and pushed through numerous pieces of legislation banning discrimination of gays. SEAMEC, an organization that rates candidates based on their support for LGBTQ issues, has consistently recognized Dow with an AAAAA rating, their highest honor.

Though 40 years removed from Stonewall, we cannot forget to recognize the leaders in a struggle that remains unfinished.

Garth Woldseth, Kirkland