Happy Pride, everyone, and take heart, because according to Gallup, marriage equality in the US and A has the strongest support it’s ever had at 71 percent. Last year it was 70 percent. With numbers like that, it might be tempting to wonder if the GOP’s latest war on LGBTQ+ people isn’t actually in response to any sort of cultural backlash, but rather is just because the GOP is a white grievance party that always has to create demons to turn their pig thug base against.
Yes, it’s tempting to wonder that.
As Gallup notes, majorities of olds over 65, Protestants and even those who identify as Republicans support marriage equality. The only demographic where there’s not majority support is people who go to church weekly. You know, because God is love and all that. Of course, if you’ve been reading about what a shitshow cesspit of brainwashing and conspiracy theories the evangelical church has become ever since Donald Trump unleashed MAGA on the nation, you’re probably not surprised to learn those fools are the holdouts.
Of course, it’s not time to relax, because those GOP wars on LGBTQ+ people are as intense as ever. They’re passing their “don’t say gay” bills, because they’re desperate to groom little white children to become little Fred Phelps-style Bible beaters like they are, and they incorrectly believe that if they just prevent their kids from learning that gay or trans folks exist, their kids won’t end up gay or trans. This is also why they’re obsessed with removing school library books that mention LGBTQ+ people.
We should also note that, in catering only to their most extremist base, there is absolutely zero reason to believe Donald Trump’s Supreme Court full of illegitimately appointed partisan hacks will give a damn about public opinion if they have a chance to get their fangs on marriage equality or privacy rights of LGBTQ+ people to live in peace. Supermajorities of the country want to see abortion rights preserved. Meanwhile, we’ve all seen Samuel Alito’s Penthouse letter to the witch-hunters of the 17th century. The Court’s conservative majority doesn’t even pretend to think it serves the American people. It thinks it’s God’s little team of hall monitors.
President Joe Biden recognized many of these dangers in his Pride month proclamation, which is very long and otherwise very nice. He refers to “cruel, persistent efforts to undermine [the] human rights” of LGBTQ+ people, especially noting their effects on people of color and trans folks. He writes of “an onslaught of dangerous anti-LGBTQI+ legislation” in the states, direct attacks on trans kids. He calls it “unconscionable.”
He writes:
This month, we remind the LGBTQI+ community that they are loved and cherished. My Administration sees you for who you are — deserving of dignity, respect, and support.
As I said in my State of the Union Address — especially to our younger transgender Americans — I will always have your back as your President so that you can be yourself and reach your God-given potential.
Today and every day, my Administration stands with every LGBTQI+ American in the ongoing struggle against intolerance, discrimination, and injustice.
We condemn the dangerous State laws and bills that target LGBTQI+ youth. And we remain steadfast in our commitment to helping LGBTQI+ people in America and around the world live free from violence.
He brags on what his administration has done, including his appointments of “the first openly gay Cabinet Secretary and the first transgender person confirmed by the Senate.” And then he talks about what else needs to be done, and calls on Congress to act to pass the Equality Act.
And so forth. It’s a good statement. So is the statement from the Democratic Party.
Despite how awful everything is right now, it sure is nice to have a presidential administration that’s issuing statements like these for Pride month. And we should remember that most Americans are generally supportive, which can be easy to miss when we’re reading about one vicious anti-LGBTQ bill after another. We need to act like it. We need to act like Michigan Democratic state Senator Mallory McMorrow did when one of the vile Republicans in her legislative body called her a “groomer.”
And also we should just have a whole lot of fucking fun, because it’s June, and fuck the haters, and if you see a hater, say a prayer to the gay gods that they will stub their toe, and it will be granted, because that is how Pride month works.
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