PHOENIX — Speakers blared and rainbow flags billowed in the October heat as the 2023 Phoenix Pride parade reached its peak. When the Grand Canyon Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence neared the end of the parade route, the wind caught their 30-foot veil.

The stitched-together pride flag and American flag rose like a curtain, creating a nearly 10-foot shield separating the thousands of paradegoers from a group of protesters wielding signs calling them God haters, thieves and fornicators.

The Sisters created what they called a symbolic display of protection for a community facing constant pressure to hide their pride.

Two years later during the Phoenix Pride Parade 2025 held Oct. 19, security measures expanded, and the organization of self-proclaimed drag nuns has become an emblem of protect

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