Threats to LGBTQ crowd loomed large this Pride month

each June, the LGBTQ+ community proudly celebrates our strength, unity and visibility during Pride month. From Hewlett to the Hamptons, Long Islanders joined their LGBTQ+ neighbors once again last month to honor our historic struggle for equality.

As usual, Long Island and New York showed up for Pride, but for many in our community, this year felt different.

A wave of bills targeting our rights have garnered widespread attention and outrage, sparking a dangerous rise in anti-LGBTQ+ incidents locally and nationally. According to the American Civil Liberties Union, nearly 500 such bills have been introduced in state legislatures so far this year.

In contrast, New York leaders are taking meaningful action on behalf of our community. Flanked by queer icons and elected officials from across the state, Gov. Kathy Hochul signed legislation into law that will safeguard protections for LGBTQ+ New Yorkers – just moments before marching in one of the world’s largest Pride celebrations.

While state leaders remain steadfast in their support, a largely unknown fight over our rights is currently playing out in federal courts, and it could have a devastating impact on the health of LGBTQ+ people here on Long Island.

In March, a decision by a federal judge in Texas, in Braidwood Management v. Becerra, ripped away nocost preventive health care from over 150 million Americans. If the decision is allowed to stand, health insurers will no longer be required to cover preventive screenings for serious conditions including HIV, cancer and heart disease.

In particular, the decision struck down access to PrEP, a life-saving medication that reduces the risk of contracting HIV from sex by 99 percent. PrEP is a key prevention strategy for ending the HIV epidemic in the United States, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Siding with the plaintiffs — a group of anti-LGBTQ+ business owners — the judge found that the Affordable Care Act’s coverage of PrEP violates religious freedom, which will allow individual insurers to deny access to it.

The Braidwood ruling came a month before the entire Long Island congressional delegation voted for a default plan that could have put 2.3 million New Yorkers at risk of losing access to Medicaid.

Both the Braidwood decision and the nation’s neardefault on its debt make clear that Long Islanders’ care is under attack. Unfortunately, when given the chance to show independence and protect vital health services, U.S. Reps. George Santos, Anthony D’Esposito, Nick LaLota and Andrew Garbarino instead fell in line with the House leadership’s devastating proposal.

This is a critical moment for the LGBTQ+ community, and the changes brought on by Braidwood present an existential crisis. Our community is disproportionately affected by HIV infections. Researchers at the Yale School of Public Health found that the ruling could result in more than 2,000 entirely preventable HIV infections in the next year.

Here on Long Island, access to PrEP is crucial. Recent reports show that Nassau and Suffolk counties have the highest suburban rates of HIV infection in the state. A staggering 5,300 Long Islanders