Acknowledging Gay History Month is not just the latest politically correct bandwagon on which all of us should jump. Gay History Month gives our society the chance to take off our collective blinders and rightfully acknowledge those we were too ignorant to love, live with and learn from before.

Many in our society may question the use of October as Gay History Month to celebrate sexual diversity. The glaring omission of the gay community throughout history means that this recent embrace of alternative living rightfully has earned a niche in our free-thinking society. But in society’s rush to officially sanction the gay community’s chosen lifestyle in the same manner as it has tried to right the wrongs done to other minorities (Black History Month, Women’s History Month, etc.), we need to use caution.

Recognizing the colorful history of the gay community is not relegated only to unearthing the sexual orientations of past celebrities, authors, artists or politicians. Celebrating Gay History Month also means celebrating the spirit and the lives of the gays, lesbians and bisexuals with whom we commonly interact. It means helping to protect their civil rights as if they were our own. It means helping them to come out of the closet instead of pushing them back into the closet and locking it.

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History has neglected to do these things. Now we have the chance to set things right. Our society needs to do more than gift gays, lesbians and bisexuals with a designated month on the calendar. We need to acknowledge the gay community on an everyday basis so as not to repeat the mistakes that history shamefully has set before us.