There’s probably no other place where this new reality is more complicated than in Florida, one of the biggest LGBTQ destinations in the world.
It’s not an exaggeration to say LGBTQ rights seem to be going backward, even as a record number of queer people appeared on TV in 2022. There’s even a new bill in Texas trying to ban children from watching drag shows. Others, like the controversial order in Texas, classify gender-affirming health care for transgender kids, such as medications that delay puberty, a form of child abuse. Others bar trans people from playing sports. Some laws allow discrimination against LGBTQ people under the guise of religious freedom. Laws viewed as discriminatory to LGBTQ people, particularly trans people, have “skyrocketed,” NBC News reports, from 41 laws in 2018 to 238 in March of this year. While there are indeed many more hurdles for LGBTQ people to cross - more protections for gender identity and trans people, most importantly - it’s fair to say most people see Pride Month as a time of parades and fun.īut Pride Month has taken on a new, sobering tone in 2022. Pride Month, which occurs every June, has by and large been a time for reflection but also for lots of parties, especially in the seven years since same-sex marriage was legalized in the United States.