As diversity, equity, and inclusion programs diminish under the Trump administration, one of the groups feeling particularly vulnerable is the LGBTQ community.
References to leaders such as Harvey Milk have been taken off warships, and protections have been scratched from federal departments and websites. Trans folks have been banned from the military; trans women athletes now can’t play on women's and girls’ sports teams.
Yet, in the wake of anti-LGBTQ orders and rhetoric, Pride Month -- which takes place in June with an assortment of parades, festivals, and community events -– goes on.
Still, will it be different this year, given the current political environment?
Brady McGill, president of Las Vegas Pride, which produces the area's LGBTQ parade in October as well as smaller Pride events this month and year-round, is quick to point out the month's genesis: The June 1969 Stonewall Riots, when LGBTQ New Yorkers fought against police brutality and raids.
"Pride from the history of that origin point comes to looking much more like a party now, but that reminder has always been there," he said. "We'd rather be celebrating and having a cocktail and having a great time, but it is a commemoration of a riot and a resistance movement. And to be clear, no rights have ever been doled out without some form of protest or progress being there."
Andre Wade, state director of LGBTQ civil rights organization Silver State Equality, said that the community is in a unique place, given all the cards it's been dealt, even just over the last six months.
"We are in a position where we have to hold multiple things at once," he said. "We are recognizing the rollback of protections on LGBTQ+ rights across the nation. Luckily, we've had some protections here in Nevada that are keeping us a little bit away from what's happening. But when you see things in the news, you read about it — it's demoralizing, it's frustrating, it causes anxiety. I really fear most for young people who are hearing this, for their mental health, and for trans and gender-diverse folks who have to deal with this specifically, because most of the attacks are targeting those folks."
However, Wade maintained that no matter what's happening, Pride will be celebrated — be it during a protest or a party.
"We have a bunch of Pride events happening throughout the valley, and people are engaged," he said. "There's a concern about what's happening in the political environment. But here in our communities, here in our homes, we are standing in solidarity, and we're going to be proud no matter what."
Andre Wade, state director, Silver State Equality; Brady McGill, president, Las Vegas Pride
