34 LGBT Equal Rights Initiatives

The last few years have been huge for LGBT equal rights initiatives. These issues are ongoing, but they flared up even more than usual following the Sochi Olympics in response to Russia's strong anti-LGBT laws. The reality is that there are still many regions around the world that ban homosexuality, although many of bans are either in the process of being struck down, appealed and challenged in court.

Early in 2014, Facebook made one huge step forward by expanding its gender identity options to be more inclusive of the transgender community, rather than restricting choices to "male" and "female." Another wonderful initiative can be seen in Barney's Spring 2014 catalog, which stars 17 transgender models—these are the kind of victories that will be celebrated this year at WorldPride 2014.