The Big Picture offers special thanks to Charles Meacham for making his photographs available.
1. People take part in the gay pride parade on Istiklal Avenue in Istanbul on June 26, 2011. (Mustafa Ozer/AFP/Getty Images)
2. Thousands of people take part in the annual gay pride parade in Tel Aviv on June 10, 2011. (David Buimovich/AFP/Getty Images)
3. Manuel Rojas shows off his engagement ring during the gay pride parade in New York June 26, 2011. (Jessica Rinaldi/Reuters)
4. An activist puts a rainbow flag on top of the figure of a Soviet soldier at the base of the Soviet Army monument during the fourth Sofia Pride annual parade in Sofia June 18, 2011. The figures in the monument were painted earlier by an unknown artist to resemble comic book heroes and characters from popular culture, among them Santa Claus, Superman and Ronald McDonald. (Stoyan Nenov/Reuters)
5. Spectators cheer during the New York City gay pride march June 26, 2011. The New York state legislature voted June 24 to become the sixth state in the US to legalize same-sex marriage. (Stan Honda/AFP/Getty Images)
6. Participants pause during the Rainbow Pride Parade in Bratislava June 4, 2011. Rainbow Pride Bratislava 2011 is a Slovak march to draw attention to the human rights of non-heterosexual people, their social and political equalization and to celebrate the second year of the LGBT pride in Slovakia. (Radovan Stoklasa/Reuters)
7. Participants take part in a gay pride parade in Bucharest in front of the Romanian Parliament building on June 4, 2011. Around 200 participants from Romania and other countries took part. (Daniel Mihailescu/AFP/Getty Images)
8. Members of the Batala percussion band play music during Athens Pride, the annual gay-lesbian parade, in Athens, on June 4, 2011. (Louisa Gouliamaki/AFP/Getty Images)
9. Participants crowd the "Strafle des 17. Juni " Boulevard towards the Brandenburg Gate during Berlin's annual Christopher Street Day parade on June 25, 2011. (Maurizio Gambarini/AFP/Getty Images)
10. People take part in the annual gay pride parade in downtown Rome June 11, 2011. (Alessandro Bianchi/Reuters)
11. Jazzul Holguin, a sophomore at Lynn English High School, took part in Boston's annual Pride Parade on June 11, 2011. (Wendy Maeda/Globe Staff)
12. Gay rights activists dance during the gay pride parade in downtown Budapest on June 18, 2011. Gay pride rallies were held in several Central and Eastern European capitals and hundreds of police were on duty to protect the marchers following calls by extremist groups to stop the demonstrations. (Bela Szandelszky/AP)
13. Participants embrace each other as they take part in the gay pride march in Zagreb on June 18, 2011 after the United Nations issued its first condemnation of discrimination against gays, lesbians and transgender people in a cautiously worded declaration hailed by supporters as a historic moment. (AP)
14. People hold a giant rainbow flag during the gay pride parade in Lisbon on June 18, 2011. (Patricia De Melo Moreira/AFP/Getty Images)
15. Actress and singer Susana Zabaleta takes part in the gay pride parade in Monterrey June 18, 2011. (Tomas Bravo/Reuters)
16. Participants march during the tenth gay pride parade in the streets of Paris June 25, 2011. (Julien Muguet/Reuters)
17. Participants perform with a bus made of cardboard that says "avenue revolution, dignity and freedom" during the annual gay pride parade in Lima July 2, 2011. The march, inaugurated by Lima's Mayor Susana Villaran, highlights issues of the gay, lesbian and transgender community. (Mariana Bazo/Reuters)
18. Policemen force gay rights activist Daniel Choi into a police vehicle as they detain him near the Kremlin during a gay pride parade, unsanctioned by the city authorities, in central Moscow May 28, 2011. (Mikhail Voskresensky/Reuters)
19. Activist Alex Hotz is choked by an orthodox protester at the Moscow Pride event May 28, 2011. (Chad Meacham)
20. A man attacks a gay rights activist during a gay pride parade, which was unsanctioned by the city authorities, in St. Petersburg June 25, 2011. (Stringer/Reuters)
21. Police officers spray the crowd with water as they take part in the gay pride parade in Toronto July 3, 2011. (Mark Blinch/Reuters)
22. Everine Hill (left) and her partner Carshella Hewie walk with their 17-month-old daughter Nasya Hewie-Hill after marching in the gay pride parade on June 26, 2011 in New York. Hill and Hewie have been together for 13 years. (Tina Fineberg/AP)
23. A reveler participates in the gay pride parade in San Salvador on June 25, 2011. (Jose Cabezas/AFP/Getty Images)
24. Revelers take part in the gay pride parade in Mexico City June 25, 2011. Thousands of LGBT rights activists participated in the annual parade. (Carlos Jasso/Reuters)
25. Revelers take part in the gay pride parade in Santo Domingo July 3, 2011. (Eduardo Munoz/Reuters)
26. Guatemalan army soldiers march through the capitol city's main square during a gay pride celebration on June 25, 2011 in Guatemala City. Guatemala is one of Central America's most conservative countries, and the gay community has suffered a long history of discrimination. (John Moore/Getty Images)
27. A reveler joins a gay pride parade in Barcelona on June 26, 2011. (Manu Fernandez/AP)
28. Sue Bennett hugs her pregnant partner Elese Lebsack before riding a motorcycle during the 41st annual gay pride parade in San Francisco on June 26, 2011. (Jeff Chiu/AP)
29. People carry a rainbow flag during the 15th gay pride parade in Avenida Paulista in Sao Paulo June 26, 2011. More than 3 million took part, making it the world's largest gay pride march, according to Brazilian tourism authorities. (Nacho Doce/Reuters)
30. Revelers take part in the annual gay pride parade in central London on July 2, 2011. (Warren Allott/AFP/Getty Images)
31. People in costume attend the annual gay pride parade in Bogota on June 26, 2011. (William Fernando Martinez/AP)
32. Transgender Melani (center) poses for a portrait during the annual gay pride parade in Guatemala City June 25, 2011. (Rodrigo Abd/AP)
33. People attend the 41st LGBT Pride parade in San Francisco June 26, 2011. (Susana Bates/Reuters)
34. New York Senator Tom Duane puts his hand to his heart in appreciation of the crowd as he walks with his partner Louis Webre during the gay pride parade in New York June 26, 2011. (Jessica Rinaldi/Reuters)
35. Maxwell poses for a portrait during the annual gay pride parade in Guatemala City on June 25, 2011. (Rodrigo Abd/AP)
36. Revelers attend the annual gay pride parade in Madrid July 2, 2011. (Andrea Comas/Reuters)#
37. Filipino gays and lesbians march on the University of the Philippines campus in Manila on June 28, 2011. The LGBT group urged President Benigno Aquino to recognize and promote human rights for gays and lesbians. (Jay Directo/AFP/Getty Images)
38. Two men march along Prado Boulevard in Havana on June 28, 2011 to celebrate gay pride day. (Adalberto Roque/AFP/Getty Images)
39. A reveler takes part in the gay pride parade in Managua on June 28, 2011. (Elmer Martinez/AFP/Getty Images)
40. People dance with earphones connected to their cell phones during the gay pride 'Silent Disco' in Madrid on June 30, 2011. The city council had banned amplified music in the central Chueca Square so people downloaded an application to their smart phones to listen to the live DJ. (Paul White/AP)
41. A reveler attends the gay pride parade in New Delhi on July 2, 2011. Indian gay rights activists were outraged by Indian Health Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad, who said, "Men having sex with men is unnatural and not good for India. It is a disease which has come from other countries," while addressing a national convention on HIV/AIDS in New Delhi on July 4. (Prakash Singh/AFP/Getty Images)
42. A couple kisses beneath the Victory Column at the Berlin Pride event in Berlin on June 25, 2011. (Charles Meacham)
43. Shirley Gerow, 66, kisses her partner Robin Burkhardt, 72, from Central Valley, N.Y., as they watch the gay pride parade on June 26, 2011 in New York. Gerow and Burkhardt have been together for 16 years. (Tina Fineberg/AP)