Pride 2026
The fight is not over.
Everywhere you look, there are rainbows. This is Pride Month, and the Pride flag is flown at individual homes, government buildings, businesses, and churches across the country. There are parades and celebrations — we participated in one on June 5 in Park Ridge, Illinois.
And while it is encouraging to see the outpouring of support for the LGBTQ+ community, there is still a great deal of work to be done to ensure human rights for all. There are only 23 states that have enacted laws to protect LGBTQ+ individuals from discrimination in housing. The ACLU is tracking 530 anti-LGBTQ+ state bills across the country. While the right to marry was decided in the 2015 Obergefell v. Hodges case, the Supreme Court has been petitioned to overturn this decision by some religious groups such as the Southern Baptist Church and some conservative legal groups. The fight is not over.
Trans rights are under attack in several areas. Some states are trying to ban gender-affirming medical care for youth, and to restrict it for adults. VA hospitals no longer offer therapy, wigs, or prosthetics for transgender Veterans. Government sponsored insurance no longer covers transition surgery. There are attempts in Texas and North Carolina to ban transgender individuals from using public restrooms that they prefer. In Kansas, a bill was passed to ban gender self-identification on driver’s licenses and other identification documents. The fight is not over.
Transgender participation in sports continues to be controversial. Some states have banned trans women from taking part in school events, and more legislation is pending. Social conservatives take advantage of voters’ uncertainty around this issue to make it a prominent campaign focus. The most egregious action that some groups have taken has been to restrict information about the issue. The discussion of sexual orientation and gender identity has been banned in schools in Florida and Texas, all manner of books have been banned, and preferred pronouns that do not correspond to biological sex cannot be used in Idaho, Montana, or Tennessee. The fight is not over.
It wasn’t that long ago — in 1969 — that police felt that they could raid gay bars with impunity. That resulted in the Stonewall Riots, and the beginning of a movement. June is Pride Month, a time to celebrate and a time to remember. But there are about 1.3 million adults and 300,000 children in the U.S. who identify as transgender. Their rights need to be protected, and all of our freedoms need to be preserved. The fight is not over.
