In the capital and dozens of other cities across the US on Sunday, supporters of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) rights mobilized for marches and rallies, celebrating their gains, but angered over threats to those advances.
The centerpiece event — the Equality March in Washington — was endorsed by virtually every major national advocacy group working on behalf of LGBT Americans.
Leaders of those groups have been embittered by several actions of US President Donald Trump’s administration — including the rollback of federal guidance advising school districts to let transgender students use the bathrooms and locker rooms of their choice.
Photo: AFP
The protesters also said that Trump, although he campaigned as a potential ally of gays and lesbians, has stocked his administration with many foes of LGBT-rights advances, including US Vice President Mike Pence, US Attorney General Jeff Sessions, and US Secretary of Health and Human Services Tom Price.
Throngs of marchers, many thousands strong, paraded past the White House and toward the Capitol, trailing a giant rainbow flag near the head of the procession.
“We’re here, we’re queer, get that Cheeto out of here,” was among the chants directed at Trump.
For the LGBT community across the US, it is an emotional time.
Yesterday was the one-year anniversary of the mass shooting in Orlando, Florida, that killed 49 people at Pulse, a gay nightclub.
Among the marchers in Washington was Gil Mendez, a Puerto Rican native who traveled with his partner all the way from San Francisco to join the parade.
“The attack on Pulse really struck me hard,” he said. “It made the connection between the physical violence of guns and the political attacks on our community.”
About 100 marches and rallies were planned across the US, including the first-ever gay pride parade in Grosse Pointe, a prosperous Detroit suburb.
The 1.6km march began at Grosse Pointe South High School to emphasize support for teenagers who are gay or transgender.
Two 15-year-old marchers, Jessica Dodge and Shekinah Aho, held hands and wore shirts that said “Make America Gay Again.”
Among the activist leaders on hand in Washington was Sarah Kate Ellis, president of the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation, which monitors media coverage of the LGBT community.
She said that Trump, breaking from the practice of former US president Barack Obama, has declined to issue a proclamation in honor of Pride Month, and that the Trump administration has deleted questions about sexual orientation from planned federal surveys.
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