New York City pride march arrives amid growing national backlash
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Stacy Lentz, an owner of the Stonewall Inn, where the 1969 riots took place, and the CEO of an affiliated nonprofit, said she thought LGBTQ+ people and their supporters needed 'to get back to the roots of Pride and what happened at Stonewall because our rights are under attack in a way we haven't been in decades.'
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'I have had young folks ask me, 'What do you think it was like back then? How do you think people felt to be fighting for their rights?'' she said. 'I tell them we've never been closer to that time then we are right now. We all need to pick up the torch.'
The New York march is the largest of its kind in the United States, with 75,000 participants and roughly 2 million spectators, according to organizers. It is also broadcast on network television, a testament to how much public support for LGBTQ+ people has grown over a generation.
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But backlash against LGBTQ+ rights has increased since same-sex marriage became legal nationwide almost exactly 10 years ago. The fallout has mainly, though not solely, affected transgender people.
'The gay and lesbian movement succeeded beyond the expectations of the founders,' said David K. Johnson, a professor of history at the University of South Florida. 'But now trans people are the most vulnerable members of the LGBTQ community, which is why I think sometimes using the term LGBTQ actually obscures more than it explains.'
Over the past three years, Americans have become more supportive of laws that limit transgender rights, according to the Pew Research Center. A majority of adults now support laws that ban gender-affirming care for minors and require trans people to play on sports teams based on their sex at birth.
A poll released by Gallup in May showed that 54% of Americans -- up from 51% four years ago -- said that it was morally wrong to change one's gender. The share of Americans who said that homosexuality was morally wrong had risen much further, from 25% in 2022 to 33% in 2025.
'As my grandma used to say, 'Now we are hustling backward,'' said Sean Ebony Coleman, the founder and CEO of Destination Tomorrow, an LGBTQ+ center in the Bronx.
Transgender individuals and their allies have been hit hard by the anti-diversity fervor of the Trump administration, which spent heavily on campaign ads attacking trans people in the months leading up to last year's presidential election.
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Soon after President Donald Trump took office, he issued a series of executive orders seeking to dismantle diversity, equity and inclusion programs and limit the rights of transgender individuals.
One order barred federal contractors or those that received federal grant money from making use of DEI policies. That set off a confusing scramble in the private sector, leading many corporations to cut back or cancel their donations to Pride events in New York and around the country.
Another executive order banned openly transgender people from serving in the military, while another stated that the federal government would recognize only two unchangeable sexes -- male and female -- and banned the use of federal funds for the promotion of 'gender ideology,' a term whose legal definition is unclear.
All the orders have been challenged in court, but they have severely harmed the nation's LGBTQ+ organizations, many of which rely on federal grants to provide social services to older adults, young people or those struggling with issues such as substance abuse or homelessness.
The administration has also canceled roughly $800 million worth of grants on topics related to LGBTQ+ people, a move that has devastated research programs focused on LGBTQ+ health.
The amount of canceled funds was wildly out of proportion to the number of LGBTQ+ people in the United States. Roughly half of all the research funding canceled by the administration was dedicated to the health of LGBTQ+ individuals, who make up about 10% of the population.
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The ban on 'gender ideology' and DEI has also led to a number of symbolic affronts. In February, the National Park Service removed references to trans people from the webpages of the Stonewall National Monument. And last week, the U.S. Navy renamed a ship that had honored Harvey Milk, one of the country's first openly gay elected officials, who was assassinated in 1978.
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The LGBTQ+ movement has also suffered a series of Supreme Court defeats in recent weeks. The court ruled that the Trump administration could begin enforcing a ban on transgender troops in the military. It upheld the rights of parents to withdraw their children from public schools when LGBTQ+ themes are discussed. It sided with a heterosexual woman who claimed her gay co-workers had discriminated against her. And it upheld a ban on gender-affirming care for young people.
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The parade is also the occasion for ideological fights within the movement itself.
Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch criticized organizers over their decision to ban the Gay Officers Action League from fully participating in this year's parade. She said that the organizers had refused to allow officers to carry guns, which she said are an integral part of their dress uniform.
It is the 'height of hypocrisy to request the security and protection of thousands of armed, uniformed police officers for the march on Sunday and then ban from that event the very officers that proudly represent your community,' Tisch wrote in a letter Saturday that was shared with The New York Times.
'In a year when LGBTQ+ rights are under siege in ways we had thought were behind us, this is the time to stand together, not to splinter.'
She and members of the group plan to protest their exclusion at 11 a.m. Eastern near the parade route, according to a department news release.
Police and corrections officers had been banned from marching as a group at Pride since 2021 in the aftermath of the George Floyd protests and widespread criticism of violence by law enforcement officers.
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The Hill
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Chicago Tribune
an hour ago
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USA Today
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We can love this country and loathe the people in charge. We can be simultaneously proud of this country and embarrassed of the things being done in its name. As America enters the patriotism-heavy week of the Fourth of July with an unpopular president behaving in myriad un-American ways, it's worth wondering what patriotism should look like in this moment. Is it saluting the flag and dutifully respecting the office of the presidency, looking past the actions of President Donald Trump and his administration to celebrate our imperfect nation? That's certainly what he would want. If nothing else, Trump in his second term has shown Americans that fealty to him is all that matters. His lackeys in Congress parrot his language and propose bills to put the King of Mar-a-Lago's face on currency or Mount Rushmore. As Trump's un-American actions mount, we have to find our own patriotism On Thursday, June 26, journalists were scolded mercilessly by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth for having the audacity to report that Trump's recent bombing of Iranian nuclear sites might not have been as successful as the president claimed. It was as close to 'You must not question Dear Leader!' rhetoric as you can get without being in North Korea. He suggested that reporters – you know, the Fourth Estate, the ones responsible for holding the powerful accountable – take the president's word for things, suggesting: 'Wave an American flag. Be proud of what we accomplished.' Some will follow the administration's instructions, of course. Trump will always have his hardcore MAGA base, and that base will never deign to question his infallibility. They, like Trump, will wrap themselves tight in the American flag and use it as a shield to deflect inconvenient things like facts or criticism. 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But as a critic of Trump and all he has done to mangle this country and its sense of decency, I can share my form of Fourth of July patriotism. I still love this country. That's why I mercilessly mock the rubes in charge. It involves still loving the heck out of this country, and celebrating the fact that, at least for the moment, I'm free to tell Hegseth to take his little flag-waving idea and his 'How dare you question our authority!' attitude and pound sand. It involves sharing a quote from Trump talking about himself, Hegseth and Secretary of State Marco Rubio in the wake of the Iran bombings: 'We feel like warriors.' Then it involves using space in my column to mercilessly ridicule the absurdity of that quote: A warrior? You're as much a warrior as I am a duck, and buddy, my hide is featherless and my feet aren't remotely webbed. You bone-spurred your way out of the Vietnam War and quite possibly bombed Iran because people made fun of your sad birthday parade. Get over yourself. Authoritarians are sensitive little flowers – give 'em hell Authoritarian types like Trump hate mockery. Their fragile egos can't bear it. So I, like many non-MAGA Americans, give them the derision they deserve. In a country built on resistance to a monarchy and aristocrats, that is patriotic. In fact, it's almost definitionally American. We can love this country and loathe the people in charge. We can be simultaneously proud of this country and embarrassed of the things being done in its name. So my patriotism this Fourth of July week is to loudly declare that my America doesn't stand for masked federal agents grabbing migrant children and mothers and fathers off the streets and whisking them away without due process. My America is welcoming, and just, and decent. And no two-bit con-artist president is going to take away my belief that these un-American actions can and will be stopped. Nothing less American than saying a mayoral candidate should be deported Republican Rep. Andy Ogles sent a letter Thursday to U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi declaring that Zohran Mamdani, the Democratic primary winner in New York City's mayoral race, is 'an antisemitic, socialist, communist who will destroy the great City of New York' and calling for him to be deported. Aside from being baseless and laughably stupid, Ogles' letter and the intent behind it are as un-American as it gets. My patriotism will take the form of calling Ogles a sad, opportunistic dingbat and noting that future generations of his family will deny any connection to him, lest they be cast out of civil society or die of embarrassment. My America ridicules powerful dummies and stands strong in protest My America won't tolerate racists or xenophobes or clout-chasing knuckleheads who think the American dream involves trampling carelessly over others while forgetting the very things that make this country great. My America fights back against tyranny and indecency with ridicule, peaceful public protest, voting and a unified voice. I'm not happy with the state of America, and I'm particularly not happy with the array of malicious weirdos currently running the joint. But I'm not going to look at the American flag and feel ashamed. That flag still represents a country I believe to be well worth fighting for, and a set of ideas I won't let a pack of grifters and warped-brain scoundrels erase. Opinion: Trump says we have 'too many non-working holidays.' He's right. Rest is for LOSERS! On the Fourth of July, find your patriotism and live it I'm not alone in feeling this way. I know that. So in the lead-up to the booms and the colorful firework bursts and the barbecues, to the noise and sweat and the dull roar of chatter from family and friends, find your own patriotism. Speak loudly. Stand strong. And believe you have it in you to make a change. Even if it's just throwing up a middle finger to the bastards forcing us to feel like America is upside down. Follow USA TODAY columnist Rex Huppke on Bluesky at @ and on Facebook at You can read diverse opinions from our USA TODAY columnists and other writers on the Opinion front page, on X, formerly Twitter, @usatodayopinion and in our Opinion newsletter.
