Joining hands: Two men wearing traditional Swiss costumes walk toward the Europride parade in Zurich on June 6. About 50,000 people participated that day in the annual festival, which has been held in a different European city each year since 1993. In countries around the world, lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people are gaining dignity and equal rights, despite opposition and setbacks. The closet doors have been opened, and for these activists, there's no going back inside.

*This updates a previous version that referred to the Church of Scotland as a member of the Anglican Communion. It is a Presbyterian church.