It’s 2019 and City Paper‘s annual Pride Issue is as necessary as ever. This collection of six articles is meant to offer a window into the state of D.C.’s LGBTQ community today.

Start by partaking, on the page, in D.C.’s mobile queer party scene. (“In a city where development has forced out brick-and-mortar queer hotspots, especially those not made for cis, white, gay men, such gatherings act as an alternative for queer individuals in search of nightlife and community,” writes Amy Guay.) Finish with a Q&A with a man who was among the first 100 or so Hill staffers to “come out of the closet.” (“The reality for a lot of LGBTQ people is it ain’t easy if you’re an LGBTQ person of color, if you’re a woman, a trans person, a kid, an elder,” he says.) 

Happy reading.

• D.C.’s Queer Collectives Are Mastering the Art of the Safe, Flexible, Mobile Party

• Seeking LGBTQ District Residents who Served in the United States Armed Forces: Were you dishonorably discharged?

• D.C. Pride Veteran Ben Finzel Takes Stock

• What to Expect from D.C.’s Dyke March

• The Amazing Ordination of American University Chaplain Joey Heath-Mason, a Married Gay Methodist

• Councilmembers, Sex Workers, and Allies Introduce Bill to Decriminalize Sex Work in D.C.