WASHINGTON (Reuters) -LGBTQ+ people and supporters from around the world marched through the streets of Washington on Saturday in a joyful celebration meant to show defiance of President Donald Trump’s rollback of queer rights.
The parade route passed within one block of the White House grounds in one of the final main events of the weeks-long WorldPride celebration.
On Sunday a more political event, dubbed a rally and march, will convene at the Lincoln Memorial, a revered space in the U.S. civil rights movement as the site of Martin Luther King Jr.’s “I Have a Dream” speech in 1963.
The parade route was lined with members of the LGBTQ+ community and allies like Carrie Blanton, a 58-year-old school teacher from Broken Arrow, Oklahoma, who was attending her first event for LGBTQ+ rights, saying her religious beliefs previously kept her from showing support.
“I wanted to grow as a Christian and realized my own hard-heartedness. This is a way to give back to the community for having been so cold-hearted in the past. God is here for everyone,” said Blanton, who voted for Trump in the 2024 presidential election and for Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden in 2020.
Girard Bucello, 30, a queer writer from Washington, staked out a position near the White House before the head of the parade arrived, saying there was “no better place” than the U.S. capital for WorldPride.
“Showing up in D.C. is a way for us to feel safe in a moment that does not feel safe,” Bucello said.
Washington was chosen as the site for WorldPride before Trump won the 2024 election.
Since returning to office in January, the Republican president has issued executive orders limiting transgender rights, banning transgender people from serving in the armed forces, and rescinding anti-discrimination policies for LGBTQ+ people as part of a campaign to repeal diversity, equity and inclusion programs.
While proponents of DEI consider it necessary to correct historic inequities, the White House has described it as a form of discrimination based on race or gender, and said its transgender policy protects women by keeping transgender women out of shared spaces.
Moreover, the White House said it has appointed a number of openly gay people to cabinet posts or judgeships, and noted that the Trump administration took steps to decriminalize homosexuality globally, and that its 2019 initiative “Ending the HIV Epidemic” aimed to cut HIV infections by 90% by 2030.
“The President is honored to serve all Americans,” White House spokesperson Harrison Fields said in a statement.
‘FRUSTRATED AND DISAPPOINTED’
Event organizers said they were unaware of any counterprotests or anti-LGBTQ+ demonstrations planned for Saturday or Sunday.
The National Park Service, however, fenced off Dupont Circle, a popular public space, until Sunday night at the request of the U.S. Park Police, which said closure was necessary to “secure the park, deter potential violence, reduce the risk of destructive acts and decrease the need for extensive law enforcement presences.”
Capital Pride Alliance, which is organizing WorldPride events, said it was “frustrated and disappointed” at the closure.
“This beloved landmark is central to the community that WorldPride intends to celebrate and honor. It’s much more than a park, for generations it’s been a gathering place for DC’s LGBTQ+ community, hosting First Amendment assemblies and memorial services for those we lost to the AIDS epidemic and following tragic events like the Pulse nightclub shooting,” the alliance said.
(Reporting by Daniel Trotta; editing by Donna Bryson and Paul Simao)
By Daniel Trotta
