Out! Raleigh Pride 2022 (c) John Suddath
June is Pride Month with parades and festivals all across the nation. While we have much to celebrate in progress in recent decades, the backlash is disturbing. The radical right has moved beyond protests to efforts to disrupt our celebrations with violence. What is even more disturbing, was the recent revelation that many of the corporations that support Gay Pride also donate millions in contributions to legislators on the radical right. In North Carolina, the celebrations have spread beyond the major cities to the suburbs and smaller towns. The North Carolina General Assembly tried to mimic some of the restrictive legislation recently passed in other states, but that appears to have been tabled for now thanks to the efforts of Equality NC. Lambda Legal recently won a case challenging North Carolina’s exclusion of gender affirming health care for trans state employees.
After Roe Vs. Wade, folks are concerned that the Supreme Court may come for us and reverse their decision on same-sex marriage. That is highly speculative at this point. To my knowledge, a case has not been filed nor hearings held before the court. It takes years for these things to inch their way up the ladder. The high court of public opinion has continued to move in our direction, particularly with the views of younger people. In spite of the Republican Party strategy to use us as a wedge issue in the mid-term elections, only the most extreme flakes have directly attacked us. Their explosive diatribes get media attention, but they still represent only a small minority.
The most significant recent event for the LGBTQ+ community was the Executive Order by the President regarding conversion therapy. Section 3 lists five priorities for various federal agencies to combat this treatment and to challenge it as a deceptive practice. It has been discredited by numerous professional mental health organizations. At present 20 states have an outright ban. This order probably will be challenged, but it still is a big step since the so-called therapy is still practiced in several states. The order also addresses a number of other issues regarding discrimination against LGBTQ+ individuals.
We have to accept the fact that the radical right, especially religious fundamentalists, will try to use the Bible as a weapon to attack us. I can’t count how many theologians have challenged their interpretations of scripture, but you can’t change people’s minds when they won’t listen. It is pointless to directly challenge them in debate. We can only speak of love and acceptance versus hate and division. Race and gender have been issues for centuries, and they have yet to be resolved.
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