Washington Pride attendees march in defiance of Trump’s rollback of queer rights
Trump has limited transgender rights, banned transgender people from military service, and rescinded anti-discrimination policies for LGBTQ+ people
LGBTQ+ people from around the world will march through the streets of Washington on Saturday in a joyful celebration meant to show defiance to President Donald Trump’s rollback of queer rights.
The parade route will come within one block of the White House grounds in one of the final main events of the weeks-long WorldPride celebration.
On Sunday, a more political event, dubbed a rally and march, will convene at the Lincoln Memorial, a revered space in the US civil rights movement as the site of Martin Luther King Jr.’s “I Have a Dream” speech in 1963.
Events will play out in the US capital in the wake of the Trump administration’s measures to curtail LGBTQ+ rights. The Republican president has issued executive orders limiting transgender rights, banning transgender people from serving in the armed forces, and rescinding anti-discrimination policies for LGBTQ+ people as part of a campaign to repeal diversity, equity and inclusion programmes.
While proponents of DEI consider it necessary to correct historic inequities, the White House has described it as a form of discrimination based on race or gender and said its transgender policy protects women by keeping transgender women out of shared spaces.
Moreover, the White House said it has appointed a number of openly gay people to cabinet posts or judgeships, and noted that the Trump administration took steps to decriminalise homosexuality globally, and that its 2019 initiative “Ending the HIV Epidemic” aimed to cut HIV infections by 90 per cent by 2030.