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Pride Month puts spotlight on rights of LGBTQ people – Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette

It’s Pride Month, and gay Americans should have a lot to celebrate: A new president who has pledged to advocate for LGBTQ people, an easing of a pandemic that has disrupted their communal activism and increasing public acceptance of their basic rights, including record-high support for same-sex marriage.

Instead, the mood is somewhat bleak. Congress has so far failed to extend federal civil rights protections to LGBTQ people. Pandemic-related concerns are still disrupting the usual exuberant Pride festivals. And a wave of anti-transgender legislation in Republican-governed states has been disheartening

“The same week I’m seeing all the ‘Happy Pride’ announcements, I received multiple calls from friends about trans kids having to navigate entering psychiatric hospitals because they were suicidal and self-harming,” said M. Dru Levasseur, a transgender attorney who is director of diversity, equity and inclusion for the National LGBT Bar Association.

On June 1, the start of Pride Month, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis signed a bill making his state the eighth this year to ban transgender girls from competing in girls’ sports at public schools. Arkansas, one of those eight states, also has enacted a law banning gender-confirming medical treatments, like hormones and puberty blockers, that greatly reduce the risk of suicide in trans youth.

The trans community already faces a disproportionate level of violence. At least 28 trans and gender nonconforming people have been killed so far this year in the U.S. — on track to surpass the previous one-year high of 44 such killings in 2020.

Activists’ concerns extend beyond transgender issues. For many, the top political priority is passage of the Equality Act, which would extend federal civil rights protections to LGBTQ people. It was approved by the Democratic-controlled U.S. House and is backed by President Joe Biden, but it probably needs at least 10 Republican votes to prevail in the closely divided Senate — and so far has no GOP co-sponsors.

Tyler Deaton, who advises a conservative group called the American Unity Fund that supports LGBTQ rights, believes enough Republican votes can be found if language is drafted to ensure the Equality Act doesn’t infringe on religious freedom.

Amid the disappointment, Pride festivities are proceeding, but many have been subject to downsizing, postponement and — in some cases — controversy.

The Pride parades in San Francisco and Los Angeles have been canceled for a second year in a row, due to uncertainty about covid-19 restrictions. Organizers are offering smaller in-person events this month.

Philadelphia has scrapped its large-scale parade; there are plans for a festival instead on Sept. 4. Chicago’s parade has been rescheduled for Oct. 3. In New York, most events for NYC Pride will take place virtually, as they did last year, though some in-person activities are planned.

Some recent developments have encouraged the LGBTQ community — the overturning of a Trump administration ban on transgender people joining the military; the ground-breaking appointments of Pete Buttigieg, who is gay, as transportation secretary, and Dr. Rachel Levine, who is transgender, as assistant secretary of health.

But to many activists, these developments are offset by setbacks to transgender rights.

Amy Allen, mother of a 14-year-old transgender boy in the suburbs of Nashville, Tenn., said her family is dismayed by the multiple anti-trans bills winning approval in Tennessee — including one exposing public schools to lawsuits if they let transgender students use multi-person bathrooms or locker rooms that don’t reflect their sex at birth.

It’s worrisome enough, Allen said, that she and her husband — who have roots in the Northeast — are considering relocating there if Adam’s situation worsens.

Information for this article was contributed by Emily Leshner of The Associated Press.

FILE - In this Wednesday, May 26, 2021 file photo, Maddy Niebauer and her 10-year-old transgender son, Julian, from Middleton, Wis., take part in a rally for transgender rights at the Capitol in Madison, Wis. Republicans who control the state Legislature are holding hearings Wednesday on legislation that would ban transgender athletes from competing in girls' and women's school sports — a proposal opposed by nearly 20 groups, including the statewide body that oversees high school sports. (Mark Hoffman/Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel via AP, File)=WIMIL

FILE – In this Wednesday, May 26, 2021 file photo, Maddy Niebauer and her 10-year-old transgender son, Julian, from Middleton, Wis., take part in a rally for transgender rights at the Capitol in Madison, Wis. Republicans who control the state Legislature are holding hearings Wednesday on legislation that would ban transgender athletes from competing in girls’ and women’s school sports — a proposal opposed by nearly 20 groups, including the statewide body that oversees high school sports. (Mark Hoffman/Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel via AP, File)=WIMIL
FILE - In this Wednesday, April 14, 2021 file photo, members of the Olsen and Thorell family hold pride flags during a rally in support of LGBTQ students at Ridgeline High School in Millville, Utah. Students and school district officials in Utah are outraged after a high school student ripped down a pride flag to the cheers of other students during diversity week. A rally was held the following day in response to show support for the LGBTQ community. (Eli Lucero/The Herald Journal via AP, File)/The Herald Journal via AP)

FILE – In this Wednesday, April 14, 2021 file photo, members of the Olsen and Thorell family hold pride flags during a rally in support of LGBTQ students at Ridgeline High School in Millville, Utah. Students and school district officials in Utah are outraged after a high school student ripped down a pride flag to the cheers of other students during diversity week. A rally was held the following day in response to show support for the LGBTQ community. (Eli Lucero/The Herald Journal via AP, File)/The Herald Journal via AP)
FILE - In this Tuesday, March 2, 2021 file photo, protestors in support of transgender rights march around the Alabama State House in Montgomery, Ala. Pride Month celebrations in the U.S. are taking place under unusual circumstances in June 2021, with pandemic-related concerns disrupting many of the usual festivities and political setbacks dampening the mood of LGBTQ-rights activists. (Jake Crandall//The Montgomery Advertiser via AP, File)=ALMON

FILE – In this Tuesday, March 2, 2021 file photo, protestors in support of transgender rights march around the Alabama State House in Montgomery, Ala. Pride Month celebrations in the U.S. are taking place under unusual circumstances in June 2021, with pandemic-related concerns disrupting many of the usual festivities and political setbacks dampening the mood of LGBTQ-rights activists. (Jake Crandall//The Montgomery Advertiser via AP, File)=ALMON
FILE - In this Thursday, March 4, 2021. file photo, a group of people, including many BYU students shine Pride colors on the Y on the mountain above BYU in Provo, Utah. Students at Brigham Young University illuminated the letter "Y" on a mountain overlooking the Provo campus on Thursday with rainbow colors in a display meant to send a message to the religious school. (Trent Nelson/The Salt Lake Tribune via AP, File)

FILE – In this Thursday, March 4, 2021. file photo, a group of people, including many BYU students shine Pride colors on the Y on the mountain above BYU in Provo, Utah. Students at Brigham Young University illuminated the letter “Y” on a mountain overlooking the Provo campus on Thursday with rainbow colors in a display meant to send a message to the religious school. (Trent Nelson/The Salt Lake Tribune via AP, File)
FILE - In this Thursday, May 20, 2021 file photo, demonstrators gather on the steps to the State Capitol to speak against transgender-related legislation bills being considered in the Texas Senate and Texas House in Austin, Texas. Pride Month celebrations in the U.S. are taking place under unusual circumstances in June 2021, with pandemic-related concerns disrupting many of the usual festivities and political setbacks dampening the mood of LGBTQ-rights activists. (AP Photo/Eric Gay, File)

FILE – In this Thursday, May 20, 2021 file photo, demonstrators gather on the steps to the State Capitol to speak against transgender-related legislation bills being considered in the Texas Senate and Texas House in Austin, Texas. Pride Month celebrations in the U.S. are taking place under unusual circumstances in June 2021, with pandemic-related concerns disrupting many of the usual festivities and political setbacks dampening the mood of LGBTQ-rights activists. (AP Photo/Eric Gay, File)
FILE - In this Friday, May 21, 2021 file photo, Amy Allen, the mother of an eighth grade transgender son, speaks at a Human Rights Campaign round table discussion on anti-transgender laws, in Nashville, Tenn. Allen says her family is dismayed by the multiple anti-trans bills winning approval in Tennessee – including one exposing public schools to lawsuits if they let transgender students use multi-person bathrooms or locker rooms that don't reflect their sex at birth. At left is Chris Sanders, Tennessee Equality Project executive director. (AP Photo/Mark Humphrey, File)

FILE – In this Friday, May 21, 2021 file photo, Amy Allen, the mother of an eighth grade transgender son, speaks at a Human Rights Campaign round table discussion on anti-transgender laws, in Nashville, Tenn. Allen says her family is dismayed by the multiple anti-trans bills winning approval in Tennessee – including one exposing public schools to lawsuits if they let transgender students use multi-person bathrooms or locker rooms that don’t reflect their sex at birth. At left is Chris Sanders, Tennessee Equality Project executive director. (AP Photo/Mark Humphrey, File)
FILE - In this March 15, 2021, file photo, demonstrators gather on the steps of the Montana State Capitol protesting anti-LGBTQ+ legislation in Helena, Mont. Gov. Greg Gianforte signed a bill Friday, May 7, 2021, banning transgender athletes from participating in school and university sports according to the gender with which they identify, making Montana one of several Republican-controlled states to approve such measures in 2021. (Thom Bridge/Independent Record via AP, File)=MTHEL

FILE – In this March 15, 2021, file photo, demonstrators gather on the steps of the Montana State Capitol protesting anti-LGBTQ+ legislation in Helena, Mont. Gov. Greg Gianforte signed a bill Friday, May 7, 2021, banning transgender athletes from participating in school and university sports according to the gender with which they identify, making Montana one of several Republican-controlled states to approve such measures in 2021. (Thom Bridge/Independent Record via AP, File)=MTHEL
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