NEW YORK ( Associated Press) — LGBTQ Pride parades were taking place in some of America’s biggest cities on Sunday amid renewed fears about the possibility of eroding freedoms won by decades of activism.
The annual march in New York, San Francisco, Chicago and other cities comes two days after a conservative Supreme Court justice ruled that the court should also reconsider same-sex marriage rights recognized in 2015.
The warning comes a year after a legislative defeat for the LGBTQ community, which included the passing of laws in some states that limit discussion of sexual orientation or gender identity with children.
As anti-gay sentiments grow, some are pushing to bring the parade back to its roots – less street partying and more civil rights marches.
“It’s become more a celebration of gay life than a statement of activism and protest,” Sean Clark, 67, recently said of New York’s annual parade while enjoying a drink at one of the bars, Julius. Manhattan’s Greenwich Village neighborhood.
Clarke recalls when the parade was a march of defiance and disapproval of an oppressive mainstream that viewed lesbians, lesbians, and transgender people as worthless and foreign.
Dan Dimant, spokesman for Heritage of Pride, the non-profit organization that organizes the parade in New York, said this year’s march will be festive, with floats and “people dancing and celebrating.”
In the United States, celebrations this year take place in the midst of a potential crisis.
The Supreme Court abolished the right to abortion in a decision on Friday. In an opinion parallel to the ruling, Justice Clares Thomas said the court should also reconsider a 2015 ruling that legalized same-sex marriage and one that struck down laws making gay sex a crime.
