Reuters US Domestic
By Daniel Trotta
WASHINGTON (Reuters) -LGBTQ+ people and supporters from around the world marched through the streets of Washington on Saturday with a mixture of joyful celebration and a show of defiance in the face 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, as revelers waved rainbow flags, including one stretching several blocks long, and danced to pulsating beats.
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.
Since returning to office in January, Trump 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.
Thousands lined the parade route, marched or gathered for a festival on Pennsylvania Avenue with the U.S. Capitol in the background. Neither parade organizers nor police in the District of Columbia estimated the size of the crowd.
Parade-goers pledged to preserve remaining rights and fight the Republican president's agenda.
"We're going backwards," said Patricia Johnson, 70, who works for a nonprofit group supporting seniors in Washington. "But never give up hope."
As the Pride Month of June began, the U.S. Navy took steps to rename an oil tanker that had been named after slain gay rights activist Harvey Milk, in the Pentagon's latest measure against diversity, equity and inclusion programs.
"That pissed me off more than anything. Harvey Milk is one of our heroes," said Mike Brubaker, a retired business analyst from Long Beach, California.
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.
'LET THEM SERVE'
Parade organizers gave prominent space near the head of the parade to displays of patriotism including military veterans with the banner "Operation Resist" and a group carrying flags for each branch of the armed forces with signs reading, "Let them serve."
Washington's Metropolitan Police Department had its own contingent marching in the parade, as did the district's fire department, carrying a sign that said, "Fire doesn't discriminate. Neither do we."
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.
Lisa Tusick, 62, an accounting clerk from Delaware, said she feared how far Trump may go.
"He started with trans kids and he's going to keep going until he gets rid of gay marriage," Tusick said. "We don't want to think about it too much. We just want to enjoy the day."
(Reporting by Daniel Trotta; editing by Donna Bryson and Paul Simao)
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