LGBTQ+ Pride Parades Spark Celebration and Concerns Across the US

The New York City Pride March, the largest of its kind in the US, is set to take place with 75,000 marchers and roughly two million spectators. While public support for LGBTQ+ people has never been higher, backlash against their rights has grown since same-sex marriage became legal nationwide in 2015. States across the country have passed laws banning drag performances and transgender health care, while protests and physical attacks on LGBTQ+ events and their supporters have cast a pall over gay bars and community centers. Conservative-led boycotts against companies that once embraced Pride festivities have led to billions of dollars of corporate losses. Heritage of Pride, which organizes the march, recognized the worsening political climate in an open letter earlier this month that was co-signed with the organizers of dozens of other Pride events across the country.