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Chicago Tribune
12 hours ago
- Politics
- Chicago Tribune
Pride under attack: Activists say celebrations are more critical as US, conservative states such as Indiana rescind LGBTQ protections
Christopher Colwell of Valparaiso, Indiana, teared up a bit as his grandmother sang with her church choir during Northwest Indiana Pridefest earlier this month, calling the moment a haven of acceptance in a state and nation that's become increasingly hostile to queer men like him. The grandson and grandma briefly embraced after her performance on a stage adorned with rainbow-colored balloons and a giant Pride flag. 'I can't stand the current climate in this state. It don't represent its people anymore,' said Colwell, 25, at the June 8 event at Riverview Park in Lake Station. 'I have a really poor outlook on the country as a whole.' While Pride events in the past were largely celebrations of the rights the LGBTQ community has secured — as well as promotions for greater representation and acceptance — many activists say the focus this year has been on girding protections and freedoms that are being actively rolled back on the federal level as well as in many Republican-led states such as Indiana. 'For the LGBTQ community, there's a lot of anxiety about the rights that we have and are they going to stick around much longer?' said the Rev. Leah Peksenak, president of NWI Pridefest Inc. and pastor of two northwest Indiana churches. 'It's less about let's celebrate what we have and try to push for more. Now it's like, we might have to really dig in our heels and refuse to relinquish what we've already won. Because we're not going backward.' This is in stark contrast to more liberal states such as Illinois, which have been strengthening LGBTQ rights and protections in the face of a national movement to rescind many of them. Attorney General Kwame Raoul earlier this month filed an amicus brief, along with 20 other states, defending a Michigan law that bars health officials from practicing so-called conversion therapy on LGBTQ children. He's also spoken out against a Trump administration attempt to ban transgender military service and change to the passport application process, arguing they harm transgender and nonbinary Americans. Gov. JB Pritzker has publicly pledged to protect the community's rights, as well. 'I've been marching for LGBTQ+ rights since Pride was considered a protest,' Pritzker posted on Facebook earlier this month, kicking off a series of Pride events statewide that culminated with the iconic Chicago Pride Parade in the Northalsted neighborhood Sunday. 'And I'll continue to march under this administration as a recommitment to the fight for equality today. No matter who you are or who you love, you have a home here in Illinois.' Although Indiana has always been more conservative in terms of LGBTQ protections, Peksenak has seen more brazenness in the language and policymaking of elected officials in recent months. A few days before the northwest Indiana Pride event, Indiana Lt. Gov. Micah Beckwith posted a 'Pride month alert' on the social media site X, warning parents that 'the rainbow beast is coming for your kids!' 'Corporate America and government institutions are launching their annual siege on childhood innocence — and this year's Pride Month agenda is more aggressive than ever,' the message said. Many LGBTQ groups were outraged a few months ago, when Indiana Attorney General Todd Rokita made an April Fools' Day post joking that 'The Left wins. … They have finally brainwashed me,' while standing beside a Pride flag. In March, Indiana Gov. Mike Braun signed a pair of executive orders targeting 'extreme gender ideology.' One barred transgender women and girls from participating in women and girls sports in Indiana schools; the other declared that there are only two genders. Both mirrored similar executive orders signed by President Donald Trump. Out Leadership's annual State LGBTQ+ Business Climate Index released this month found Illinois to have among the strongest protections for gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender and other queer residents, while Indiana was one of the lowest-ranked states in the nation. The global LGBTQ rights organization's state-by-state report showed great disparity across the country, with the nation as a whole growing more discriminatory — and divided — when it comes to LGBTQ rights and safeguards compared to previous years. 'Political polarization is widening, and following the 2024 elections, a new wave of anti-LGBTQ+ laws is sweeping the nation,' the report stated. Logan Casey, director of policy research for the national nonprofit think tank Movement Advancement Project, said the result is often vastly different freedoms and levels of safety for LGBTQ folks, depending on the part of the country where they live, work or visit. 'There is a very dramatic and clear difference from one state to the next when it comes to LGBTQ policies and protections — so a real patchwork,' he said. 'In a sense, there are two different Americas for LGBTQ people.' 'Freedom isn't linear' Colwell's grandmother, 70-year-old Maggie Reister, said she was proud to perform at the local Pridefest with fellow worshippers from her Unitarian church, particularly amid such a tumultuous time in history for many LGBTQ folks. 'I know my grandson and his friends are afraid. They're more afraid now,' she said. 'I know bad things happen, they've always happened, but I think they're more afraid.' Years ago, Reister attended rallies and protests demanding that governments legalize gay marriage. Then in 2015, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in Obergefell v. Hodges that states couldn't deny marriage licenses to same-sex couples, a decision that seemed to mark a turning point for the nation, she recalled. Thursday marked the 10th anniversary of the landmark decision. Yet now, Reister fears the hard-earned rights and protections for the LGBTQ community are slowly slipping away in large swaths of the country. 'I think the conservative faction is more emboldened,' she added. Anti-LGBTQ legislation and rhetoric by politicians have a trickle-down effect, which can encourage broader discrimination by the public and discourage allies from showing support, said Peksenak, who is affectionately nicknamed 'the Rainbow Rev.' The pastor said Pridefest organizers in northwest Indiana last year received one violent threat, which was frightening but the lone incident. This year, organizers received several similar messages in the run-up to the event, Peksenak said. 'Because of politics on a national scale, there just seems to be more and more permission for actual people to be loudly hateful, even just between last year and this year,' Peksenak said. 'So there seems to be more vitriol.' Like many other Pride events nationwide, the northwest Indiana festival faced a recent financial crisis when corporate sponsors who had pledged funding dropped out following Trump's election in November. 'After the election results, they pulled out. Overnight,' Peksenak said. 'They all closed ranks. And they didn't say it was because of the election. They didn't say it was because of blowback. They said things like 'Oh, it's just not in the budget this year.' But we're not stupid.' Going into June, San Francisco Pride had faced a $200,000 budget gap after corporate sponsors withdrew their support; KC Pride in Kansas City, Missouri, lost about $200,000, which was about half its annual budget, according to The Associated Press. Anheuser-Busch dropped its sponsorship of PrideFest in St. Louis after 30 years of support, leaving organizers with a $150,000 budget shortfall. Several events nationwide had to scale back their celebrations because of a loss of funding; in some cases, organizers said corporate sponsors asked to remain anonymous. 'If you come to Pride this year, that's a revolutionary act,' said Suzanne Ford, executive director of San Francisco Pride. 'You are sending a message to those in Washington that, here in San Francisco, we still have the same values that we've always had — you can love who you love here. We're not going to retreat from that.' In northwest Indiana, organizers had to scramble to find new sponsors: An interfaith coalition of local churches and synagogues teamed up to raise events funds, each committing about $1,000 to $2,500, along with several steadfast local businesses, Peksenak said. 'Since November has been a really rude awakening,' the pastor added. 'There is a general sense across the whole community that, oh wait, freedom isn't linear. We can lose ground. And we actually have to work and engage to make sure that doesn't happen.' To stay or leave? Colwell said he has no plans to leave Indiana, despite the rhetoric and policies of many of its officials. He cited his supportive local family and friends as part of his reason for staying. Reister added that she loves her northwest Indiana church and much of the greater community, which share her commitment to LGBTQ freedoms and safety. While state laws can differ vastly, Casey of the Movement Advancement Project noted that the lived experience of individual LGBTQ folks and their loved ones can often vary by community, neighborhood or sections of a state. Prejudice still exists in states with pro-LGBTQ policies; states with fewer protections might have cities or municipalities with thriving LGBTQ resources and legal safeguards, he added. 'There is absolutely a polarization in the policy environment for LGBTQ people right now,' said Elana Redfield, federal policy director at the Williams Institute at the University of California Los Angeles School of Law. 'But I would be hesitant to characterize any state as clearly pro-LGBTQ or anti-LGBTQ. Because on the one hand, many states have really strong policy elements but still have local or regional elements that might not be quite so supportive.' The opposite can also be true: Redfield recalled recently speaking at an event in Indianapolis, where she noticed that even the roadside billboards grew more progressive as she left rural areas of Indiana and headed into the more liberal-leaning capital. There, she received a warm reception with engaging conversation about LGBTQ issues. But discriminatory language by politicians and anti-LGBTQ policies can translate to real harm for individuals, including affecting their mental health, she said. 'Right now, we have this exacerbation of official language that is dismissive … of LGBTQ experiences and in some cases outright exclusionary,' she said. 'Our research does show that anti-LGBTQ policy debates can have a real, measurable negative impact on mental health.' There can be an enormous emotional cost 'that comes from having your right to marry being debated or whether you have a right to exist or not being debated — or whether you can play sports or whether you can access a bathroom,' she added. A Williams Institute survey of roughly 300 transgender, nonbinary and gender diverse American adults released in May found that nearly half have already moved or wanted to move to 'more affirming places' within the United States, while 45% of those polled desired to leave the country. Most of the respondents cited anti-LGBTQ policies as the reason for wanting to move. This is a troubling trend to Casey. 'It's easy for a lot of people to think, 'Well you should move somewhere else where the laws are better,'' he said. 'While that obviously makes sense in a way, the larger point is that people shouldn't be forced to choose between the place that they call home and their rights or protections.' But he says that's the quandary facing many LGBTQ folks and their loved ones nationwide, particularly in much of the South and Midwest. 'Those are choices that our politicians are making to force those sorts of really impossible life decisions for so many people,' he said.
Chicago Tribune
21-06-2025
- Politics
- Chicago Tribune
Northwest Indiana LGBTQ+ community celebrates Pride Month with resilience, caution
The first day of June was 'such a breath of fresh air,' as Pride Month kicked off amid President Donald Trump's second term, said Leah Peksenak, president of NWI Pridefest Inc. 'It's been such a stressful year, stressful since last November, and it was just so nice to take a second and prioritize joy for a little bit. Even though it's not like you forget all of the things that are happening and what's at stake, not just for LGBT people but for so many vulnerable communities, but it is nice to just take a second and say joy is itself a revolutionary thing,' Peksenak said. Trump has taken action against the LGBTQ+ community in many ways, like signing an executive order stating that the U.S. only recognizes two genders, a transgender servicemember military ban, and banning transgender athletes from collegiate sports. The Supreme Court ruled Wednesday to uphold Tennessee's ban on gender-affirming care for transgender minors. The court's 6-3 decision effectively prevents legal challenges to efforts by Trump's administration and state governments to roll back protections for transgender people, as 26 other states have laws similar to Tennessee's. Indiana Lieutenant Governor Micah Beckwith called Pride Month a 'rainbow beast' on social media and how it's coming for children. Beckwith's words depicting the LGBTQ+ community as predators give people permission to violently target the members of that community, Peksenak said. 'Nobody cares what happens to predators. Nobody cares what happens to pedophiles. So if you tell people, 'oh these people are targeting children, they are harming children, they are a beast that's coming for your kid,' some unstable person is going to hear that as a mandate to do something about it. That's frightening,' Peksenak said. Jeremy Gregson, the entertainment director for NWI Pridefest Inc., said entering Pride Month was nerve-wrecking this year, especially as the organization planned its second annual pride festival in Lake Station earlier this month. The organization took extra precautions this year, he said. 'There was a heightened sense of security,' Gregson said. 'There was some nervousness, some anxiety. But for my community, I had to step up. I had to show, on my face, that there was no anxiety because others feed off that.' The organization raised about $12,000 for Indiana Youth Group over the course of the two-day festival, Peksenak said. But, there was a bit of a challenge securing organizations to be vendors for this year's festival because so many organizations are stretched thin supporting marginalized communities targeted by the federal government, Peksenak said. 'It's like we're at empathy capacity right now because there's so many areas to care about and focus on,' Peksenak said. The actions against the LGBTQ+ community by the Trump administration are disheartening, but the community will continue to fight for rights and access, Gregson said. 'It makes me sick that we're going backwards instead of going forward,' Gregson said. Earlier this month, Southern Baptist delegates at their national meeting overwhelmingly endorsed a ban on same-sex marriage — including a call for a reversal of the U.S. Supreme Court's 10-year-old precedent legalizing it nationwide. The wide-ranging resolution doesn't use the word ban, but it left no room for legal same-sex marriage in calling for the 'overturning of laws and court rulings, including Obergefell v. Hodges, that defy God's design for marriage and family.' Further, the resolution affirmatively calls 'for laws that affirm marriage between one man and one woman.' Gregson said the church's endorsement scares him because he's currently engaged. 'My wonderful fiancé has already stated no man is ever going to stop him and I from being happily ever after,' Gregson said. 'I would hope that the Supreme Court would never want to hear the case again. But knowing who is sitting on the Supreme Court, could it be likely they would? Maybe.' If the Supreme Court did hear the case, Gregson said the LGBTQ+ community would hit the streets and the intensity would likely be that of the Stonewall Riots in 1969, where protestors and police clashed after police raided the Stonewall Inn, a gay bar, in New York City. The riots were a catalyst for the gay rights movement throughout the world. Regardless of the Supreme Court's potential action, Gregson said he will be with his partner. 'He's mine. I'm his. No judgment is going to make me not be with the man I love,' Gregson said. 'I think the Supreme Court sees it as we're human, and at the end of the day that's all we want to be treated like.' Peksenak, who is also a reverend at Marquette Park United Methodist Church and Hobart First United Methodist Church, said both parishes have people who support and oppose the Trump Administration. Similarly, Peksenak said she's aware that not all parishioners support her involvement in LGBTQ+ activism. When she preaches, Peksenak said she tries her best to speak to different situations in life, different scripture passages to avoid being 'a one note.' But, she said she also focuses on not compromising her beliefs and values. Peksenak said she tells parishioners that she doesn't have more access to God than they do, and that they can disagree with her. But, she said at the end of the day, Peksenak said as the spiritual leader of the church she has to stick to her convictions and speak to Biblical and current events. At its core, Peksenak said the church is following someone who was executed by the state for speaking his mind and supporting oppressed people. So the church has an obligation to follow that path, she said. 'I have been adamant in my stance that I understand that it might be uncomfortable when we talk about LGBT issues, I understand that it might be uncomfortable if immigration is mentioned in a sermon, but to preach a message that doesn't have anything to do with what's happening in the world today is pointless,' Peksenak said. With increased political and social attacks on the LGTBQ+ community, Peksenak said it's important that people show support for the community. 'The more that powerful people spew hate, that increases our mandate to love and love loudly. It becomes even more urgent that we go out of our way to do as much good as we can, to love and care for and protect this community.' Peksenak said.
