Pride Month 2025

d4m10n

Penultimate Amazing
d4m10n
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First off, happy pride to all who celebrate! 🏳️‍🌈

(I'll be celebrating in the usual way, by waving buzzedly at the floats as they roll slowly past and then skipping the afterparties.)

Now for my question: Are there any political causes left to champion for the first three letters of the “LGBTQIA2S+” folx, that is, people who experience same-sex attraction and would prefer to be out and proud about it without facing legal or social sanction?

By political causes, I specifically mean civil rights issues here in the United States, since this is the forum for that sort of discussion.

No transgender issues please, this is definitely not That Thread.
 
I feel confident in asserting that our LGB bruthas and sistas still face the same discrimination they always have despite more widespread acceptance by mainstream life. Some mother ◊◊◊◊◊◊◊ just can't let go, and bend over backwards to be miserable to them. Pride has to stay vocal, and Allies just as loud.
 
I for one am a little concerned about parade and event participants this time around. It seems like the "phobes" are getting bolder and feel empowered by the person that is The POSOTUS at the moment. I don't recall an official declaration of the month although I don't know if that's been standard with other Presidents.
 
alfaniner said:
I for one am a little concerned about parade and event participants this time around. It seems like the "phobes" are getting bolder and feel empowered by the person that is The POSOTUS at the moment. I don't recall an official declaration of the month although I don't know if that's been standard with other Presidents.
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That's kind of what I meant above. The nasty people are pretty open about being hateful, more than they seemed to be years back.

In our towns Halloween Parade (big event), we have been marching with the Pride Brigade as Allies (I was the house and tornado in a recent Wizard of Oz themed float). You could still hear occasional ugly ◊◊◊◊ being called out among general supportive cheering.
 
For purposes of legal and social discrimination, it is very difficult to separate LGB specific issues from transgender issues since attacks on any of those groups are attacks on "others" in general. The book burners are going after any literature that features anyone who isn't straight in a positive light.

For specific LGB issues, I would guess legal status in terms of insurance, cohabitation, property rights etc. For instance, before we were married, I was able to put my wife under my employer's health insurance since we lived together. In my state, that also applies to same sex couples. I don't know how that works everywhere else.

And there is the issue of continuing attacks on things like marriage equality.
 
theprestige said:
Probably the only thing left for LGB on the civil rights front is the right to be represented only by appropriately L/G/B actors in entertainment media...
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I've seen quite a few somewhat passionate gay scenes on Netflix lately, were if the actors weren't actually gay, they were certainly commited to the role.

Eta: just looked up Claude and Danny from the recent remake of The Four Seasons. Yup, gay actors performing as a gay couple. Sensationally, I might add.
 
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d4m10n said:
First off, happy pride to all who celebrate! 🏳️‍🌈

(I'll be celebrating in the usual way, by waving buzzedly at the floats as they roll slowly past and then skipping the afterparties.)
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Dude, you're missing out on the best part. Pride knows how to party!
 
Donal said:
For purposes of legal and social discrimination, it is very difficult to separate LGB specific issues from transgender issues since attacks on any of those groups are attacks on "others" in general.
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I trust we skeptics are up for even very difficult tasks; not my fault trans issues are corralled in just one thread.

Donal said:
And there is the issue of continuing attacks on things like marriage equality.
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There is…?

Thermal said:
Pride knows how to party!
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I was a young man once; skipping the parties these days because I remember how hard they go.
 
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Pride is still alive and strong in Seattle, perhaps not surprisingly. But it's facing a $350K shortfall in corporate sponsorship which could put its future in jeopardy. Should be good for this year though.

Not sure if the new anti-DEI mandates makes it easier for companies to reduce funding to that type of outreach. Since like everybody else, they don't know how the economic future is looking for them.
 
Donal said:
Yes, and if you took 5 seconds to search, you would have known that.
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I had thought it customary that the person making the claim provide the evidence therefor.

(Thanks for getting around to it, but it's hard to know which link to click.)
Donal said:
...they aren't that separate when you see what the attacks are really about.
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Perhaps you are correct, but I'm not going to risk getting this thread shut down by broadening the topic beyond people who are romantically attracted to others of the same sex.
 
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You could have done so before asking the initial question. Maybe actually have something to bring to the discussion.

And not knowing which link to click is the point.
 
d4m10n said:
... beyond people who are romantically attracted to others of the same sex.
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Yo yo yo... the bi/pan/omni whatever young ladies are the hit of the after parties. Or maybe a lot of Molly was involved. Anyway, Happy, happy Pride Omnione!
 
Donal said:
And not knowing which link to click is the point.
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Okay I'll just click one at random:

"This cruel action by Idaho Republicans amounts to nothing more than shouting at the wind," said Warbelow. "A majority of Americans of all political affiliations support marriage equality. Resolutions are not laws, and state legislatures lack the power to dismantle marriage equality. They cannot touch the guaranteed federal protections for same-sex couples under the Respect for Marriage Act."​

Doesn't seem like much of a viable threat.
 
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Keeping strictly to the topic of only those attracted to the same sex, this. At least his killer was arrested this time, and won't be given a pass yet for only killing a gay.
 
d4m10n said:
Okay I'll just click one at random:

"This cruel action by Idaho Republicans amounts to nothing more than shouting at the wind," said Warbelow. "A majority of Americans of all political affiliations support marriage equality. Resolutions are not laws, and state legislatures lack the power to dismantle marriage equality. They cannot touch the guaranteed federal protections for same-sex couples under the Respect for Marriage Act."​

Doesn't seem like much of a viable threat.
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Much like they couldn't over turn the Voting Rights Act provisions on their own. How did that work out?

And while these measures don't themselves have real legal power, they do have social capital. And they do represent an organized, well financed, and sustained attack on things like marriage equality.
 
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Thermal said:
I feel confident in asserting that our LGB bruthas and sistas still face the same discrimination they always have despite more widespread acceptance by mainstream life. Some mother ◊◊◊◊◊◊◊ just can't let go, and bend over backwards to be miserable to them. Pride has to stay vocal, and Allies just as loud.
Click to expand...

Silly Green Monkey said:
Keeping strictly to the topic of only those attracted to the same sex, this. At least his killer was arrested this time, and won't be given a pass yet for only killing a gay.
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I think the communities still have a lot more to worry about than being portrayed by non-gay actors, FFS.
 
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Donal said:
And while these measures don't themselves have real legal power, they do have social capital. And they do represent an organized, well financed, and sustained attack on things like marriage equality.
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Do you believe this organized and sustained attack on marriage equality will succeed in overturning Obergefell or any other gay rights?

I don't think they stand a whelk's chance in a supernova, but it's still good to march and lobby against them if you live in one of those states since that is part of why they will inevitably lose.
 
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Most US states do not have antidiscrimation laws that include protecting people from being fired from jobs for their sexual orientation. There was a federal case that ruled that sexual orientation is covered under existing federal antidiscrimation by sex...but that was one court ruling. It's not spelled out in law, and thus the opposite conclusion can be reached by another court case. I would like it specifically stated in state and federal law that it's illegal to fire someone from their job (or evict them) for their sexual orientation.

Some y'all act like because you can see gay characters on TV that everything's perfect and safe. I'll trade you any number of gay Jedi for a guarantee I can't get fired for being gay. My current employer wouldn't do that, but I've worked places that totally would have if they'd known.

And if you're going to say "oh, nobody would do that these days" then what's the harm in spelling it out specifically in law?
 
TragicMonkey said:
At one point didn't people believe Roe was secure and wouldn't be overturned, no matter how rabid the opposition was? And here we are.
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Do you really think this is an apt comparison, though? It took almost five decades of sustained anti-abortion activism to move the culture and eventually the courts on that issue. During that time, evangelicals went from being fairly indifferent on the issue to marching with previously reviled Catholics. I'm not seeing anything like that sort of cultural pushback against same-sex marriage, at least not anymore (though I remember clearly when things were pretty heated around the turn of the millennium).

It is possible that one of those states will actually pass a new law attempting to roll back same-sex rights in some way, thereby generating a test case for the federal courts. Does anyone (other than Donal) care to bet on it?
 
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d4m10n said:
Do you really think this is an apt comparison, though? It took almost five decades of sustained anti-abortion activism to move the culture and eventually the courts on that issue. During that time, evangelicals went from being fairly indifferent on the issue to marching with previously reviled Catholics. I'm not seeing anything like that sort of cultural pushback against same-sex marriage, at least not anymore (though I remember clearly when things were pretty heated around the turn of the millennium).

It is possible that one of those states will actually pass a new law attempting to roll back same-sex rights in some way, thereby generating a test case for the federal courts. Does anyone (other than Donal) care to bet on it?
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It took one jerk of a president appointing who his sycophants told him to. That was it. No need for grand plans. Yes, I think it's an apt comparison.

And I don't think your personal impressions of the general culture are accurate. You seem to ascribe to an assumption that most people think the way you do and feel the way you do. That is not necessarily the case.
 
TragicMonkey said:
No need for grand plans.
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Those appointees didn't pop up out of nowhere, they were groomed for years by the Federalist Society to adopt a specific judicial philosophy which included taking a stance against the entire line of case law stemming from Roe. Back in 2016, the GOP candidate specifically promised to pick judicial nominees who were the result of this process.
TragicMonkey said:
You seem to ascribe to an assumption that most people think the way you do and feel the way you do.
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That assumption is certainly not in play regarding the aforementioned evangelicals, Catholics, and other anti-abortion activists.

My working assumption is that the anti-abortion activists are much more numerous and politically activated than the anti-LGB activists, who seem to have for the most part moved on to the more recently appended letters in the ever-expanding acronym.
 
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d4m10n said:
My working assumption is that the anti-abortion activists are much more numerous and politically activated than the anti-LGB activists, who seem to have for the most part moved on to the more recently appended letters in the ever-expanding acronym.
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And my working assumption is that those are mostly the same people, and having won their first war they're more than happy to proceed with the next.
 
TragicMonkey said:
Most US states do not have antidiscrimation laws that include protecting people from being fired from jobs for their sexual orientation. There was a federal case that ruled that sexual orientation is covered under existing federal antidiscrimation by sex...but that was one court ruling. It's not spelled out in law, and thus the opposite conclusion can be reached by another court case. I would like it specifically stated in state and federal law that it's illegal to fire someone from their job (or evict them) for their sexual orientation.

Some y'all act like because you can see gay characters on TV that everything's perfect and safe. I'll trade you any number of gay Jedi for a guarantee I can't get fired for being gay. My current employer wouldn't do that, but I've worked places that totally would have if they'd known.

And if you're going to say "oh, nobody would do that these days" then what's the harm in spelling it out specifically in law?
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They are the same people claim we cured racism by electing Obama.
 
TragicMonkey said:
And my working assumption is that those are mostly the same people, and having won their first war they're more than happy to proceed with the next.
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Project 2025 spells it out. Like I said at the beginning, its not about any one group. It's about all the "others".
 
TragicMonkey said:
And my working assumption is that those are mostly the same people, and having won their first war they're more than happy to proceed with the next.
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If we're going to lump all social conservatives together, they surely abortion wasn't their first war. I'd say it's one of the only battles they've actually won, and even then they've really captured full-trifecta red states.

Anyhow, back to Obergefell. Do you reckon that any of the red states mentioned in the article linked at #17 are going to go beyond issuing resolutions, such as actually passing restrictive laws to serve up a test case to the federal courts?
 
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If anyone thinks that those who are represented in Pride month don't face harassment, I would suggest going reading any of the "Happy Pride Month" posts by any sports team on any social media. It is insane.
 
Donal said:
Project 2025 spells it out. Like I said at the beginning, its not about any one group. It's about all the "others".
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Hell, the ACLU has a map with detailed laws and proceedings of all of the attacks on LGBTQ rights. I can't imagine thinking that this SCOTUS and these conservatives aren't going to try and test same sex marriage. The idea is just ridiculous.
 
plague311 said:
If anyone thinks that those who are represented in Pride month don't face harassment, I would suggest going reading any of the "Happy Pride Month" posts by any sports team on any social media. It is insane.
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Its weird how you never see those same comments during Irish or Italian Heritage night.
 
Donal said:
Its weird how you never see those same comments during Irish or Italian Heritage night.
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Usually it's just a bunch of old, white people bitching about how they won't watch baseball for the entire month and then complaining about how the military should get more attention. Like a full month and 2-3 holidays isn't enough. It's obnoxious.
 
TragicMonkey said:
They'll certainly try. At one point didn't people believe Roe was secure and wouldn't be overturned, no matter how rabid the opposition was? And here we are.
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Remember in November when the US still (sort of) had a democracy, US citizens weren't being deported, and you weren't 'accidentally' sent to concentration camps in El Salvador for having the wrong heritage or voicing your opinion? Remember when the US government was accountable to judges?

Any kind of 'x won't happen here' is just ridiculously naïve at the moment.
 
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