Dem
47
GOP
53
The signature event of pride month is, of course the many and varied pride marches. We mention one of them above (see the item on J.B. Pritzker), and we thought we'd highlight a few other pride marches from the last month that may be of interest.
To start with, anti-LGBTQ sentiment is, of course, not limited to American conservatives. It's a conservative phenomenon around much of the world, and has been for a very long time. A bunch of the authoritarians who have achieved power in the last decade made homophobia a key plank in their platforms. That includes friend-of-Trump Viktor Orbán, who tried mightily to ban pride parades altogether. He's out of office now, of course, and so, despite 100-degree temperatures, this year's Budapest Pride attracted tens of thousands of marchers. There's been no official count released yet, but despite the Orbán regime's efforts, the last Budapest Pride march of that administration's tenure attracted 350,000 people. This one was, by all accounts, larger. And, by all accounts, freer.
Of course, there are also folks in the U.S. that would like to put a lid on Pride events. We note above that Utah (specifically, Gov. Spencer Cox, R-UT) tried to turn Pride Month into "Fidelity Month." In the pretty lefty Salt Lake City, it seems they did not get the message. Actually, it's probably more correct to say they got the message all too well, because that Pride event was also enormous.
Our third exemplar is not exactly a Pride event, but is certainly adjacent. Pittsburgh does not exactly have am LGBTQ enclave the way San Francisco or Los Angeles or Chicago do, but Greenfield and Squirrel Hill are close. And located right on the edge of those neighborhoods is P Town Bar, which is probably the city's best-known gay bar. A few weeks back, the bar was hosting one of its semi-regular drag shows, when the bar was raided by 20 bulletproof-vest-wearing police, who forced all the performers and audience members to vacate the premises.
Shades of Stonewall there, and it's still not entirely clear why the police showed up. In any event, the audience and the performers just took the show on the road (well, on the sidewalk), and the entire event unfolded right outside the bar. Drag artist Indica and trans model Amanda Lepore danced and sang, and the crowd joined in on renditions of various songs, like Chappell Roan's "Pink Pony Club." Whoever called in the po-pos, this was probably not the outcome they were hoping for.
And finally, reader P.W. in Valley Village, CA, is a regular participant in L.A. Pride, and has been kind enough to send in reports, on occasion. Here's this year's report, with aan accounting of events on the ground (and a few other insights). ake it away, P.W.:
Official Electoral-Vote LGBTQ+ Pride correspondent checking in with a report from Pride 2026 to finish off this year's Pride month.
My previous two reports, in 2023 and 2025, leaned heavily into the history of the Pride movement. This year's report, instead, will focus on what I believe the future holds, doing so from my perspective of the Pride movement here in the City of Los Angeles. And while what happens in Los Angeles differs greatly from the doings in Bakersfield and Birmingham, the Los Angeles perspective can also serve as a leading indicator of what's to come. This year's L.A. Pride parade on Hollywood Boulevard lived up to its potential yet again.
Every Pride event is both a reflection of the LGBTQ+ community as well as a reflection of the community within which it resides. If it's in New Orleans, the Pride parade will be a rainbow-infused Mardi Gras. If the parade is in Bakersfield, don't be surprised if one of the floats is sporting a rainbow-festooned gun rack. Here in my home of Los Angeles, this reflection of the community at large is on full display.
Los Angeles itself is a microcosm of the entire planet. Have a revolution somewhere, and the population of Los Angeles increases by 30,000. The city is constantly reinventing itself. With whatever is happening anywhere in the world becoming evident on the streets of L.A.—if you take the time to look carefully to see it. I did look. And I did see. This year's Pride parade has evolved perceptibly in ways from the one that took place just 1 year ago.
Historically, Pride parades in general, and the one in Los Angeles in particular, has been the province of white boys. And while there are longstanding exceptions to this—dykes on bikes leading the parade as the most obvious example—parade contingent after parade contingent have been overwhelmingly populated with white boys. Not this year. Accelerating a trend that has been underway for quite some time, if people of color did not represent the majority of those marching down Hollywood Boulevard, it was darn close thereto. Aztec dancers, API Pride, Pride at the Beach (L.A. Black Pride), Bienestar—one parade contingent after another filled with POC faces. And while the white boys were still there, in 2026 they were clearly one of the colors of the tapestry, rather than the entirety of the tapestry itself. This is Los Angeles, with the L.A. Pride parade fully reflecting this evolution to a broader, far more diverse celebration of who we are, and -- more importantly -- who we intend to be. A little bit of everything. All celebrating both the uniqueness of who we are as well as the totality of who we are. My expectation is that this trend will continue, with the Pride events in other communities similarly experiencing the diversification akin to what was evident on the streets of L.A.
Corporate participation remains unchanged. Sony, Delta, Disney ("We are the magic!"), Starbucks, the NFL, and more. The only obvious absence from previous years was Miller and Budweiser. A bad move, as this has given Corona an opportunity to step up. The gay community has a long, long memory. No doubt Corona will reap the benefits of their support for many years to come at the expense of Miller and Bud. The protest element, that is an ever-present element of pride, was on full display as well. A difference, however, is that the "We're with trans!" and "ICE Out!" messaging remained present, but somewhat less intense than in previous years. As always, public officials were on deck with their "We're with you!" messaging. But this year, with far more convertibles and far fewer over-the-top floats. All in all, all the elements that have been present remain so. Albeit with the unmistakable shift in the faces signifying who's represented. Everyone remains in for the long haul. We've survived what's come before and will do so again. With the benefit of the LGBTQ+ movement being young enough that some of the LGBTQ+ equivalents to George Washington and Alexander Hamilton are still with us. We can ask, "How did you do it?" of the very people that did it.
The June 20 Electoral-Vote.com posting finished with a paragraph that read, in part, "We (Black Americans) have been through this type of treatment before..." And to this list of injustices, I will add one more, "You don't exist." A sentiment that the LG portion of LGBTQ+ fortunately no longer has to contend with. While our Trans brethren, sadly, are getting the full brunt of thereof.
We'll survive. We will do so by celebrating and protesting all at the same time. This year's L.A. Pride parade was a little more celebration and little less protest than the previous year. Hopefully, in 2027, there will be even more for us to celebrate.
Thanks, P.W.! The clear recurrent theme in this item is that the government can try to silence voices it does not like, but that generally just makes people speak louder.
Before we go, let us say: Please do keep in mind that we just produced nearly 10,000 words today on a general subject that is trickier than most, and has the potential to offend in multiple directions. We are happy to have feedback, but do keep in mind the magnitude of the challenge, and the timeline on which we operate.
And with that said, have a good weekend all! (Z)