In San Francisco, a similar police presence sparked a mid-parade protest that halted the march.Ībout 40 people interrupted the parade for just under an hour and two people were arrested while protesting police and corporation presence, the San Francisco Chronicle reported. Metal barricades were erected along the entire parade route. The police presence at the massive march was heavy, with several officers posted at every corner. I’m not saying we don’t have ways to go, but let’s celebrate how far we’ve come,” he said. They’d have to worry about being persecuted for their identity.” “I remember friends who would be snatched off the streets in Texas for dressing in drag.
“We’ve come so far in the past 20 years,” said 55-year-old Gary Piper, who came from Kansas to celebrate Pride with his partner. Other attendees focused on the progress that’s been made within the LGBTQ community over the last few decades. This will always remain a protest, not an advertisement,” Seller said. “We march for the liberation of our community so they can live and celebrate their identity. Protesters carried anti-Trump and queer liberation signs, chanting, “Whose streets? Our streets!” “What’s important to remember is that this is a protest against the monetization of the Pride parade, against the police brutality of our community, against the poor treatment of sections of our community, of black and brown folk, of immigrants,” said Jake Seller, a 24-year-old Indiana native who now lives in Brooklyn and worked as one of the march’s volunteers. At the Queer Liberation March near the bar, some participants said the larger Pride parade had become too commercialized and heavily policed. But his administration has also aligned with some religious conservatives in arguing that nondiscrimination protections for those same people can infringe on the religious beliefs of others who oppose same-sex marriage and transgender rights.Įarlier in the day, a crowd of about 2,000 people gathered outside the Stonewall Inn. In May, Trump tweeted about Pride Month and praised the “outstanding contributions” of LGBT people. We’ve come so far, especially in the last few decades, that I don’t want to see that repressed in any way.” “I’m definitely a little scared of how things are going, just the anger and violence that comes out of it and just the tone of conversation about it. “I’ve been to the Pride parade before, but this is the first year I kind of wanted to dress up and get into it,” she said.Ĭhristianson said she was concerned that the movement could suffer setbacks during the Trump administration, which has moved to revoke newly won health care protections for transgender people, restrict their presence in the military and withdraw federal guidance that trans students should be able to use bathrooms of their choice.
A Pride flag was tied around her neck like a cape. Alyssa Christianson, 29, of New York City, was topless, wearing just sparkly pasties and boy shorts underwear.