The trans community isn’t the only cohort of the wider LGBTQ+ community seeing civil rights being pulled away. The ACLU maintains a map tracking attacks on LGBTQ right in US state legislatures. Two such bills in the Tennessee legislature are seeking to delegitimize gay marriage and eliminate employment discrimination protections.
As if to illustrate the pulling back of the community’s civil rights, the Pride flag at the Stonewall National Monument site was removed because of the Trump administration’s banning of Pride flags at any National Parks Service property and any other government institution. The national monument in New York City was the site of the Stonewall riots and is a memorial dedicated to LGBTQ+ history and its fight for civil rights. Protesters have gathered since the removal and the community has come together to re-raise the flag. Keep fighting, my friends!
Even capitalism can’t defend against the current anti-LGBTQ political climate. The official Disney Gay Days events in Orlando are officially on “pause” due to sponsorship and contract issues. Although Gay Days Orlando (the organizing company) has paused its official hotel parties and hosted events, the broader, organic “gay days” gathering at Disney (including Red Shirt Saturday) is still expected to take place independently. While this isn’t the end of the world it’s interesting that even profitable ventures for big companies don’t seem to protect queers against the current onslaught of micro aggressions against their communities in the U.S.
