Cheapflights.com Supports Gay & Lesbian Pride Month

BOSTON, MA--(Marketwire - Jun 14, 2011) - In honor of Gay and Lesbian Pride Month, Cheapflights.com, the online leader in finding and publishing travel deals, pays tribute to cities, states and countries where monumental strides in LGBT rights have taken place. While many cities host pride events in June to mark this annual celebration, the destinations on Cheapflights.com's list of Top 10 Destinations to Celebrate Gay Rights are spots that are not only great gay-friendly getaways and hubs for Pride celebrations but are major historical landmarks from the ongoing rights movement.

For those looking to take in some of the upcoming festivities for Gay and Lesbian Pride Month, below are five destinations featured in Cheapflights.com's list of Top 10 Destinations to Celebrate Gay Rights with celebrations taking place over the next couple of months.

• New York City, US - The Stonewall Riots in New York's Greenwich Village incited the first gay rights movement in the United States in 1969. When police raided a local gay bar that summer, compelled activists around the downtown neighborhood and beyond fought back. Organizations in New York and nationwide formed, and -- to honor the one-year anniversary of the riot -- activists marched from downtown to Central Park in the first-ever gay pride march in the country. Today Greenwich Village, or 'The Village,' offers restaurants, theaters and a thriving art scene cultivated by the liberated men and women who were called to action more than 40 years ago. Search and compare cheap flights to New York to check out New York City Pride Week from June 18 - 26.

• Minneapolis, US - Even though the U.S. Supreme Court refused to hear their case, Jack Baker and James Michael McConnell stopped at nothing to be married in the state of Minnesota in the 1970s. After the court's ruling, the two men applied for a marriage license in a different county and in 1971 were married before a Methodist minister in Minneapolis. Though unrecognized by many, including the IRS, the couple is a symbol -- and reference for lawyers -- of the fight for marriage equality. And how far Minneapolis has come; The Advocate named it the gayest city in America in 2011. Search and compare cheap flights to Minneapolis to check out the Twin Cities Pride 2011 on June 25 and 26.

• San Francisco, US - For decades members of LGBT community have flocked to San Francisco seeking equality and a chance to belong. It was Harvey Milk in the 1970s who encouraged a generation of men and women to mobilize and fight for civil rights and changes in legislation. The first openly gay man elected to office in California, Milk was a beacon for a younger generation and a martyr for homosexuals nationwide. San Francisco mourned after his assassination in 1978, and continues to revere Milk as an icon for the city and the gay rights movement. Search and compare cheap flights to San Francisco to check out SF Pride 2011 on June 25 and 26.

• Toronto, Canada - Canada is by far the gay-friendliest country in all of the Americas, having offered civil marriage and legislative rights to members of the LGBT community for years. But equality did not always come so easy for our neighbors to the north. The 1981 bathhouse raid in Toronto enraged so many people in the liberal city that thousands took to the streets to protest the injustice. The city's come a long way since; it was recently picked to host WorldPride, an international celebration of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender rights, in 2014. Search and compare cheap flights to Toronto to check out Toronto Pride Week -- one of the largest Pride celebrations in the world from June 24 - July 3.

• Netherlands - The Dutch have it so good. The bicycle is a legitimate mode of transportation; the government doles out vakantiegeld, or vacation money, annually for citizens to use on extended summer travel; and -- of course -- marriage and adoption rights for same-sex couples abound. Renowned for being the first country to legalize gay marriage in 2001, the left-leaning Netherlands was voted the largest supporter of same-sex marriage in 2006 by the European Union and is a premier destination for LGBT travelers and residents alike. Search and compare cheap flights to Amsterdam to check out Amsterdam Pride from July 30 - August 7.

Athens, Greece; Los Angeles, California; Tel Aviv, Israel; Hawaii and Massachusetts round out the list of gay-friendly and historic spots and make wonderful considerations for your next vacation away. For further details on these destinations and the complete list, visit http://news.cheapflights.com/2011/06/top-10-destinations-to-celebrate-gay-rights/.

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