Webster’s Dictionary defines “pride” as “delight arising from some act or relationship.” We decided to poll the headliners of this weekend’s biggest Pride events – vocalist Kristine W and DJs Tony Moran, Dan De Leon and Manny Lehman – to find out what Pride means to them. We ended up stirring what some might suggest is a call for revolt. Read on.

Rocket: What does Pride mean to you?

Tony: Pride is feeling good about the person you are and celebrating the community as a whole.

Kristine: Pride is what we should all feel in our hearts. We should feel pride for our country, pride in ourselves, in our beliefs and trying to do good works in this battered world. Pride for the gay community encompasses all of this.

Dan: I agree. Pride means being proud of who and what you are truly about in your soul. What I love about Pride weekend is the empowering spirit that happens when people come together to share their feelings of pride.

Manny: Exactly. As a gay man, the word “pride” means more now than it did before I was part of the community. Pride means sharing your sense of self, who you are and your sense of culture as a single community. It is a time for us to congregate together, to be seen and heard as a unified energy; to celebrate our victories and recognize our losses. It’s a time to reflect and forge forward.

Rocket: What is the biggest issue facing the community right now?

Manny: There are so many issues we face as a community, but the biggest issue we must fight for now is the issue of gay marriage. The fact that we are not allowed to unite under the eyes of the church and the law holds us back as a culture. It holds us back from creating homes that are protected by the same laws that benefit heterosexual families. It inhibits us from creating our own families. Children are a difficult legacy for gay people to have, due to the oppression and limitations that gay matrimony suffers from.

Dan: It really makes me angry that my partner and I do not have the same rights as heterosexual partners. It’s so important for our community to fight for equality and equal representation within and throughout our society as citizens of the U.S.A.

Kristine: I’m happy it makes you mad. We need everyone to be mad, so that they will get up and fight to change these archaic and unfair laws. As a married heterosexual, I can tell you that marriage is wonderful. There are so many advantages to marriage. I want it for my gay friends. You deserve it. So, please, fight for it.

Rocket: Who is standing in the way of our equality?

Tony: The ignorant people running the government.

Manny: There are many people standing in our way. Political and religious leaders have long stood in our way and will continue to do so. Sadly, I think we stand in our way somewhat. We need to protest and let our desires and dreams as a culture be heard. We must never tire and never give up and speak as one voice until we reach our goals.

Tony: We’ve sat for too long and it’s time we do something.

Kristine: I sure didn’t expect a roundtable interview with three of my favorite DJs to be a call for action.

Dan: [Laughs] Usually, when we’re all together, we talk music and what’s going on in the club industry, but I think we’re all feeling something bigger is brewing.

Rocket: What can we do as a community to combat the right-wing leadership?

Dan: Be ourselves, engage new people, share our truths and our passions with the world.

Manny: Unite and prove that we are an important, viable and respectful culture. Show the depth and breadth of who we are. Smash the stereotypical impressions they have of us.

Kristine: We need to be proactive as a community. I was blessed this last year with being invited to sing at many Human Rights Campaign galas across the country. They are an amazing organization, and we all need to be involved with them no matter what our sexual preferences are. They are intelligent, genuine and committed people. I think the gay community needs to come together under one umbrella. It is too fragmented now. Muscle boys, drag queens, bears, lipstick lesbians and butch lesbians have all gone their own ways. The younger gays also seem to be disassociating themselves from the senior gays. The fragmentation weakens the community. United we stand, divided we fall.

Rocket: If you were to award one person “Gay Person of the Year,” who would it be and why?

Manny: Good question. I would give the award to any celebrity who has come out of the closet and has let his or her gayness be known, regardless of the ramifications this would bear on their careers. That is a true act of bravery and it should be recognized, respected and celebrated.

Dan: Rosie O’Donnell gets my vote. It takes a lot of guts to say what everyone else is thinking, but what no one else has the nerve to say out loud. I really think she is a hero for our community.

Tony: Definitely Rosie. I’m also a supporter of T.R. Knight.

Kristine: I would award Joe Solomese, the head of the HRC. He is a powerful force for the community in the political arena. Also, salon owner Roberto Novo. Roberto has connected more people together and continues to live by example, leading an extraordinary life against the backdrop of many hardships.

Rocket: Do we have reason to celebrate Pride this year?

Manny: Of course we do. The gay community, as a whole, no longer lives deep inside a closet. We’re out and about, and that alone is something to be proud of.

Dan: Yes, our celebration is in and of itself a representation of our progress as equal citizens and a symbol of our humanity.

Kristine: We should celebrate Pride every year. The fact that we are free to express ourselves in public is reason enough to be proud. It’s also an important reminder not to take the freedoms we do have for granted.

Tony: I’m extremely proud to be a part of this wonderful community. I love that wherever I am in the world, I can always find kinship with my gay brothers and sisters.

Rocket: What are you most proud of?

Dan: Having love in my life. I love my partner so much, and I hope to one day have our relationship fully recognized.

Manny: I am proud of who I am, where I come from and what I have done in my life so far. I’m proud that I’m a geek, that I have amassed a group of wonderful and loyal friends, and that I have many people I love and most of them love me back! I’m proud that I am able to throw my head back and laugh at life and enjoy it.

Tony: I’m proud to be one of the many that Manny loves and, yes, I love you back, brother.

Kristine: I am most proud of my children. I have been successful so far in raising two great little human beings that are not prejudiced against others, and have no fear or hate. I constantly try to live by the open-heart, open-mind philosophy, and I’m proud that I’ve managed to instill it in two little people.

Rocket: What will you bring to this year’s San Diego Pride?

Manny: Positive energy and a lot of fun, happy music.

Dan: Passion and way-hot beats. I cannot wait to perform for the city I call home.

Kristine: I’m presenting the new single I recently completed with Tony, “Walk Away.” It just landed on Billboard’s top 10 this week, so that’s another reason to celebrate!

Tony: [To Kristine:] It’s all you, baby. It’s that golden voice. We can’t get enough of it.

Rocket: What do you like most about San Diego and its gay community?

Dan: That’s easy. It’s an incredibly beautiful city and the guys have a lot less attitude than the guys in other big cities. It’s an accepting and supportive community.

Kristine: San Diego is like a second home for me. I have done so many memorable shows here, and I have so many treasured friends here. I agree a hundred percent with Dan. San Diego works hard at being a community that supports one another. It’s really a privilege to perform around so much positive energy.

Manny: I love the uniqueness of all the events San Diego offers over Pride weekend. The Sports Arena, The Zoo Party – It’s all diverse, different and, oh, so much fun.

Tony: It’s going to be a fun weekend. Happy Pride weekend, everyone!

DJ Tony Moran spins Circuit Daze at the San Diego Sports Arena on Saturday, July 21. Afterward, DJ Dan De Leon spins “Sweat” after-hours at Bacchus House (3054 University Ave.). DJ Manny Lehman headlines The Zoo Party at the San Diego Zoo on Sunday, July 2. Afterward, Kristine W sings live on stage at Club Montage (2028 Hancock St.).