by Joe Siegel

This year’s Pride celebrations took place in the midst of a very different political reality from one year ago. The LGBTQ community has been under siege by the current White House administration seemingly determined to undo years of progress.

The coverage in LGBTQ media has reflected the new reality and the fallout from the current administration’s anti-LGBTQ policies.

New York City’s Gay City News (GCN) reported that this year’s annual Pride March was “emphasizing the resilience of the LGBTQ community during a time of great political adversity.”

Matt Tracy, GCN’s editor in chief, also noted how New York City is not immune to a nationwide trend. “The NYC Pride March was held this year in the midst of financial challenges for NYC Pride, which reported a $750,000 budget deficit this year after many sponsors ‘pulled back, scaled back funding, or reallocated it in a different way’ due in part to fear of blowback from the Trump administration, a spokesperson for NYC Pride told Gay City News.”

Lavender Magazine, based in Minneapolis, published a story about a new parade unit in this year’s Twin Cities Pride “that is open to all and a way to make a symbolic stance without losing joy in the day”

“It’s very personal,” Twin Cities Pride executive director Andi Otto told Lavender. “As a trans man who is living in this current climate, it’s about being visible for those who can’t be. It’s about using the platform that Twin Cities Pride has to make a difference and bring awareness.”

OutSFL, based in Wilton Manors, Fla., reported on a potential threat to that city’s Pride celebration.

“Wilton Manors Police Department says around 8 p.m. [on June 16, 2025], just as the parade was getting started, a man walked through an entrance and set off alarms in the metal detectors,” OutSFL reported. “Guards told him to stop, but the man, now identified as Michael Monheit, ignored them and kept going. Law enforcement quickly chased him down and found a loaded gun and additional ammunition on him. Monheit is charged with trespassing and carrying a concealed firearm.”

The Los Angeles Blade covered a Price-related controversy on June 5. “Over the last three weeks, glendaleOUT — a local LGBTQ group based in Glendale, Calif. — and city leadership have been at odds over securing financial support of a family-friendly Pride event set to happen on Saturday, June 7. … Glendale’s city council voted 3-2 in favor of funding the event, ending a weeks-long argument over securing the funds.”

The controversy began when the group highlighted how neighboring cities had visibly demonstrated support for Pride Month celebrations, while the City of Glendale had yet to sponsor events with banners, city logos and financial sponsorship.

The LA Blade noted that the event “comes at a time of open attacks on minority groups in the United States. For the trans and gender-nonconforming community, those attacks have been in the form of not only anti-trans legislation but also decisions made by the U.S. Supreme Court.”

IN THE NEWS
Volume 27
Issue 6