Trump’s assault on LGBTQ+ Americans have no indication of slowing down, and state legislatures around the country are taking advantage of his discriminatory policies to further hurt the queer community. Here’s what’s been going on lately:
Last Month Kentucky GOP lawmakers voted to protect conversion therapy. According to AP News, Republican lawmakers passed the measure as part of a bill that also would outlaw the use of Medicaid funds to pay for gender-affirming health care for transgender Kentucky residents. The vote was denounced by Democratic Gov. Andy Beshear.
Utah has become the first state to ban Pride flags from schools and government buildings. A Newsweek article reveals; “The law states that only a handful of flags, including the American flag and military flags, are allowed to be displayed in government buildings and schools, the AP reported.” According to Newsweek, the law will also apply to MAGA flags. “Proponents of this bill say it will help promote political neutrality in schools and government buildings, but critics say it is intended to chill discussions of sexual orientation and gender identity.”
Brands all over the U.S. and Canada are pulling their support and funding from upcoming Pride events. On March 25th Pride St. Louis announced that Anheuser-Busch had decided it will not renew its 30-year sponsorship of PrideFest. According to NPR, other sponsors have also deserted the non-profit, leaving them $150,000 behind their target. In response, some St. Louis bars are boycotting the brand. “That’s a really active decision, especially in today’s political climate where so many traditionally marginalized communities are seeing protections they have being challenged,” said Bradley Rohlf, Greenfinch Theater and Dive co-owner, of the sponsorship cut. “We’re sitting here like: ‘Well, our friends are gay, and we love them. So we’re not going to support this company.’” Greenfinch is selling their remaining inventory and donating 25% of the proceeds to Metro Trans Umbrella Group, which provides transgender support in the midwest.
According to the New York Times, as the country retreats from diversity initiatives under President Trump, “Pride organizers across the United States say that many longtime corporate sponsors are suddenly being evasive about their financial commitments or abandoning their support entirely.” San Francisco Pride lost 200K when Comcast dropped out. Proctor & Gamble, a corporation with an annual revenue of more than 80 billion dollars, pulled funding from St. Charles Pride Missouri, and Pride Toronto has lost three major U.S. sponsors, including Nissan, which said in a statement that its decision was “due to a re-evaluation of all our marketing and media activations in a variety of activities.” What does that mean? I honestly don’t know.
While most companies won’t comment on their reasoning, and others blame budgetary issues, experts are calling bullshit. According to John Paul Rollert, an adjunct associate professor at the University of Chicago Booth School of Business, “Supporting a Pride event is not a particularly expensive undertaking. There is a fear of potential reputational harm that might come from the administration turning its spotlight on them.”
So, what do we do? Of course, you can donate to your local Pride initiatives. You can also visit Track Trans Legislation for a sample script of what to say if you want to call or write to your local legislators. Spend your dollars wisely and support brands from queer creators–like we do here at Pink Robin!–or brands that support LGBTQ+ communities.
Finally, is there any good news right now? That’s debatable, but, according to a 2024 Religion News survey that was published last month, “Some 75% of Americans support nondiscrimination protections for LGBTQ+ people in housing, employment and public accommodation, up from 71% in 2015.”
Let’s take that as a win, and keep living out loud.
Hey there. Laura Leigh here. I’m a wife, writer, mama, small business owner, podcast host, and the Head of Content here at Pink Robin.
I love supporting the queer community and bringing shared experiences to life.
If you have a story to tell, I’m here for it.
la********@pi***********.com
I remember when my wife and I first became moms, I knew that our ability to “pass” was behind us. I was never going to pretend that my wife and family were something other than exactly who they were. It was freeing to know that I had to live my queer life out loud, that I would forever be myself in every space, all the time.
In a 2023 CNN article Daniel Korschun, associate professor of marketing at Drexel University explained that when it comes to supporting the LGBTQ+ community, executives “are becoming much more skittish about taking these stands and making strong statements.
According to a 2022 Pew Research Poll, roughly eight-in-ten U.S. adults say there is at least some discrimination against transgender people in our society. Because trans rights have become such a contentious issue across the country, companies that used to view supporting pride as “low stakes” have become less likely to support the LGBTQ+ community as a whole. “The pendulum is swinging a bit back … toward a more conservative approach, where they’ll be less vocal,” says Korschun. According to a recent NBC News article, Target stores will only sell pride merchandise in select locations this year. The retailer will not have Pride collections in about half of their locations. Additionally, they will only sell pride merchandise for adults.
An argument that Target has made in the past and is now using again is that this decision protects their LGBTQ+ employees, but let’s be clear: Conditional allyship is not support. Pulling queer merchandise from their shelves and essentially pretending that we don’t exist–and ignoring those of us who have children that want to celebrate pride with us–is detrimental to our community. Erasure threatens our safety. This weekend my mom told me that she’s done with Target. Like her, I can’t say I feel good about spending my money in a place that doesn’t value my family. As of today, the ACLU is currently tracking 515 anti-LGBTQ bills in the U.S. We exist, and abandoning us only endangers us.
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