LGBTQ culture in Miami

[1] In 2009, the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) began looking into instances of Miami Beach Police Department (MBPD) targeting gay men for harassment.

[2] In February 2010, the ACLU announced that it will sue the City of Miami Beach for an ongoing targeting and arrests of gay men in public.

[10] The passage of progressive civil rights laws,[11] election of outspokenly pro-gay Miami Beach Mayor Matti Bower, and the introduction of Miami Beach's Gay Pride Celebration, have reinvigorated the local LGBT community in recent years, which some argued had experienced a decline in the late 2000s.

[11][failed verification] Both residents of, and visitors to, Miami Beach have been able to register as domestic partners since 2004;[14] in 2008 this benefit was extended to all of Miami-Dade County.

It is home to a sizable LGBT population as well as winter vacationers, who frequent its many nightclubs and gay-owned businesses along the main street, Wilton Drive;[19] the 2010 U.S. Census reported that it is second only to Provincetown, Massachusetts in the proportion (15%) of gay couples relative to the total population (couples as reported to the U.S.

[23] The Stonewall National Museum and Archives (SNMA) is a nonprofit, tax-exempt organization that promotes understanding through preserving and sharing the culture of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people and their role in society.

[24] It has also attracted many celebrities such as Chaz Bono,[25] Adam Lambert,[26] Gloria Estefan, Mario Lopez, and Elvis Duran who were Grand Marshals for Pride weekend from 2012 through 2016[27][28] respectively.

[34] The festival celebrates diversity and inclusion combining art, a curated food section, curated booth vendors, several themed dance parties, a doggie village, free films at the historic Tower Theatre and cultural arts[35] into one gigantic party in the heart of Miami's historic Little Havana neighborhood.

The Gay8 Festival features an LGBTQ Human Rights Symposium aimed at bringing thought leaders from South Florida, other parts of the United States, Canada, the Caribbean and Latin America together for education and human rights advocacy for the Pan-American region.