“Marsha Was Here” is a digital collage created to honor the enduring spirit of Marsha P. Johnson and the brave souls who ignited the Stonewall uprising. As an ally and passionate advocate for social justice, I believe art should challenge, remind us, or uplift us while hoping to inspire the viewer. This piece uses vibrant color, layered textures, and the language of street art. It’s intended to blend protest with possibility. It should remind us that Pride began with the first thrown brick and resistance. In this piece, I wanted to capture not just defiance but the joyful audacity of asking for our rights in a world that says no. In our current climate, we are so reminded of the past. Who will be the Marsha’s in 2025?
L.Anne Hatfield
“Everyone is lovable and deserves their true life and their true identity. We shouldn’t be hiding who we are, any of us.”
-- L. Anne Hatfield
Drawing Truth: L. Anne Hatfield on Art, Justice, and becoming seen
by Percy Laird
L. Anne Hatfield, art isn’t just a practice—it’s a way of processing the world, holding grief, and refusing to look away. A mixed media and digital artist based in rural Washington, Hatfield’s work is grounded in personal reflection and collective urgency.
“Art is how I get my anxiety at peace,” she says. “But now I can tell—there’s an edge to my work that wasn’t there before.”
That edge has sharpened in recent years, shaped by political unrest, injustice, and the evolving state of queer and marginalized lives in America. Hatfield’s art moves fluidly between media—ink, watercolor, Sharpie, children’s markers, turpentine, and digital layering—
chosen intuitively, based on the emotional demands of each piece. “I find it harder to create when there’s no passion for the subject,” she explains. “Each medium is a response to what the piece needs.”
Her recent digital collage, “Marsha Was Here”, is a powerful example. Built from 44 digital layers, it was inspired by a vivid dream in which Marsha P. Johnson—the trans activist and Stonewall icon—was murdered against a wall. Spray-painted above her in the dream were the words: “What would Marsha do?”
“That question stayed with me,” Hatfield says. “Marsha was willing to give it all up to be who she was. The least I can do is do something.”
The resulting piece is both memorial
and call to action, blending street art imagery with layered color and protest iconography. “It should remind us that Pride began with the first thrown brick,” she adds. “I wanted to capture not just defiance, but the joyful audacity of asking for our rights in a world that says no.”
Hatfield’s perspective is shaped by a lifelong ethic of compassion and inclusion. “Everyone is lovable and deserves their true life and their true identity,” she says. “We shouldn’t be hiding who we are, any of us.”
Through her art and advocacy, she supports causes like Pacific County Pride, immigrant justice, women in science, and reproductive rights. But more than anything, her work speaks for itself—layered, vivid, and unwilling to be silent.
“This is mine,” she says. “And I’m ready.”
Anne Hatfield
Photo courtesy of L. Anne Hatfield
PRIDE GUIDE 2025
Rural Pride events across the Pacific Northwest covering Washington, Oregon and Idaho
Please visit Stonewall’s online Pride Guide for updated events: www.stonewallnews.net/articles/comprehensive-guideto-our-regions-2025-rural-pnwpride-events/23753
by Erin Sellers
National corporations might be backing off of supporting Pride, but communities across the Pacific Northwest are staying strong and showing up to throw celebrations all over the region this June and beyond! We’ve collated a list of the regional celebrations across the rural Pacific Northwest, so whether you’re looking for the one closest to you or hoping to road trip to a new Pride every single weekend, we’ve got you covered. Read on for more information on how you can
Listed in chronological order:
1. June 7, CDA4Pride [ID]
Kick off your Pride month with the CDA4Pride festival! Starting at 10 am on June 7 at the Coeur d’ Alene City Park Bandshell, you can join the free CDA4Pride festivities at the community event “celebrating diversity and building a stronger and more unified community for ALL.” The celebrations, hosted by the North Idaho Pride Alliance, last until 3pm, with food, entertainment, community resource and local business tabling
“There is so much fear and anxiety and just unknown surrounding the political state of the world right now, But I think that fear also inspires so much hope and so much resilience and so much push and drive to be like, ‘No, we are here and we are going to celebrate and we are going to be happy.’”
Kenzie Budge, Tri-Cities Pride Board Comunications Chair
“It is such a wonderful community event. The organizers of Sandpoint Pride make a real effort to make sure that it’s safe, inclusive and that everybody can have a good time. That’s one of the things that stood out to us in our first year, is that they to make sure that everybody, once they were there, felt safe. They put up barriers to block out the protestors. It was fun vibes.”
Anne Johnson, Community Care at Spectrum Center Co Executive Director
and a tie dye party under the City Park shelter.
After festivities wrap up at 3pm, you can hop on a boat at 3:30 pm for a Pride cruise around Lake Coeur d’Alene to celebrate the kick-off of Pride month. Tickets for the Pride cruise are limited, though, and selling quick.
CDA4Pride has an interesting history: In 2022, 31 members of the Patriot Front, a white nationalist group, were arrested — pulled out of a U-Haul with riot gear and smoke bombs — on their way to the Pride event downtown. That same year, a far-right blogger falsely accused Eric Posey, a local drag performer, of exposing his genitals during an all-
ages performance at the CDA4Pride Festival. (Posey later won over $1 million in a defamation case against the blogger.)
Since drawing national attention in 2022, the community has rallied around CDA4Pride, and last year, there were over 2,500 attendees celebrating at the annual CDA4Pride event. With the recent barrage of anti-queer and trans policies coming out of the Idaho Legislature, it is more important than ever to show up and show out for Pride festivities in Idaho!
More event information can be found here: https://www.nipridealliance. com/cda4pride-2025
2. June 7, Chelan Pride [WA]
Chelan, Washington is hosting their fourth annual Pride Festival this year, in Riverwalk Park from 10 am to 4 pm. The theme is Vision for the Future, and there will be live music, a vendor fair and food vendors. In the evening, the community is planning to celebrate with an afterparty, details to be announced soon. More information on Chelan Pride can be found here: https://chelanpride.org/ upcoming-events/pride-festival
3. June 7, Seabrook Pride Celebration [WA]
Seabrook, an unincorporated beach town on the Washington coast, is having their very first celebration this year!
The celebration will be a family-friendly event, with live performances, a DJ-hosted dance party, art installations, and community connection. There will also be food trucks and booths with local vendors where people can browse crafts, art, merchandise, and more.
We interviewed Stephen Poulakos, a queer resident and the vice president of planning and design at Seabrook Land Company, earlier this year about the Pride celebration. For Poulakos, Seabrook has a rich history of Pride: he remembers coming out there, to one of the town’s founders, and later, in one of the parks that he designed, he proposed to his nowhusband Michael.
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Seattle drag king Ceasar Hart performs at Ocean Shores 2024 Pride Celebration. | Photo by Matt Cyphert
RURAL PRIDE FESTIVITIES
around the PACIFIC NORTHWEST 2025
Numbered in chronological order
JUNE
1 June 7 - CDA4Pride Celebration [ID] www.nipridealliance.com/ cda4pride-2025
2 June 7 - Chelan Pride [WA] https://chelanpride.org/ upcoming-events/pride-festival
3 June 7 - Seabrook Pride Celebration [WA] https://www.seabrookwa. com/events/outdoor-activities/ seabrook-pride-celebration/
4 June 7 - Salem, Capital Pride [OR] https://salemcapitalpride.org/ pride-parade-and-block-party/
5 June 7 - Walla Walla Pride Festival [WA] https://wallawallapride.com/ walla-walla-pride-2025/
6 June 8 - Snovalley Pride Picnic [WA] snovalleypride.org/pride-picnic2025/
7 June 14 - Canyon County Pride [ID] https://www.canyoncountypride. com/2025-schedule
8 June 14 - Spokane Pride & Festival [WA] www.spokanepride.org/
9 June 20-21 - Pacific County Pride in Long Beach [WA] pacificcountypride.com/
10 June 21 - Yakima Pride [WA] www.yakimapride.org/
11 June 21Wenatchee Pride [WA] www.wenatcheepride.org/
| June 2025 | Stonewall News Northwest | www.stonewallnews.net
13 June 22-23 - Pacific County Pride in Raymond [WA] pacificcountypride.com/
14 June 28 - Pride in Perry, Spokane [WA] https://www.odysseyyouth.org/ prideinperry
15 June 28 - Eugene/ Springfield Pride [OR] https://www.eugenepride.org/ festival-25
JULY
16 July 11-13 - Sandpoint Pride [ID] https://www.safe-idaho.org/ sandpointpride
17 July 19 - Silver Valley Pride, Wallace [ID] https://www.svpcommunity.com/
18 July 26 - Lincoln County Pride, Libby [MT] https://www. facebook.com/profile. php?id=100083096902847
AUGUST
19 August 1-3 - Ocean Shores Pride [WA] https://www.ospride.com/
20 August 16 - Garland Pride, Spokane [WA] Event info not yet available
SEPTEMBER
21 September 6-7 - Boise Pride [WA] https://boisepridefest.org/
22 September 12-13Grays Harbor Pride [WA] https://www.zeffy.com/en-US/ ticketing/grays-harbor-pridefestival--2025
23 September, date TBD - Republic Pride [WA] Event info not yet available
“It started with a picnic and turned into so much more. We envision an Idaho where LGBTQ+ individuals are fully visible, valued, and embraced within every aspect of society.”
Canyon County Pride
7. June 8, Canyon County Pride [ID]
Because Seabrook is a beach town where 90% of the population at any given time is part-time or vacationing folks, there are plenty of rentals available for anyone wanting to make a weekend out of travelling to a quaint beach town to celebrate, and the city is offering 10% off of rentals for Pride weekend with the code PRIDE10.
Learn more about the celebration here: https://www.seabrookwa.com/ events/outdoor-activities/seabrookpride-celebration/
4. June 7, Salem, Capital Pride [OR]
In Salem, Oregon, Capital Pride is hosting a Pride Parade and Block Party with activities, food vendors, games and live performances. This event takes place in downtown Salem on June 7 from noon to 5 pm, but it’s not Salem’s only Pride event! Later in the summer, they’re planning to host their 47th annual Pride in the Park. More info on the Pride Parade and Block Party here: https:// salemcapitalpride.org/pride-paradeand-block-party/
5. June 7, Walla Walla Pride [WA]
The fifth annual Walla Walla Pride Festival is happening at the Heritage Square Park from 1 pm to 5 pm. The theme is “Orgullo y Unidad, Pride and Unity,” and there will be live performances, speakers, music, local vendors, community booths and activities for all ages. Organizers are anticipating that this could be the biggest event yet, with the planning team swelling from five people to 45 between 2024 and 2025. Learn more about how you can get involved with or celebrate Walla Walla Pride here: https://wallawallapride.com/wallawalla-pride-2025/
6. June 8, Snovalley Pride Picnic [WA]
Carnation, Washington is hosting their third annual Snovalley Pride Picnic at the Tolt Commons. From 11am to 3 pm, there will be free food, free live music, free art-making stations in the green space outside the commons. Photos from last year’s event available on their website show a colorful array of people dancing, horse-riding, singing, blowing bubbles and passing out food. More information on this year’s celebration here: https://snovalleypride.org/pridepicnic-2025/
Last year, Canyon County held its first Pride Festival in a local Nampa Park. Canyon County Pride made national news after their first Pride, when large fences were erected to protect participants after angry residents made vague threats and left thousands of derogatory Facebook comments on a news release about the upcoming event. The mayor herself stated it went against her beliefs and Brian Lenney, the region’s state senator, warned that it could “turn our community into another Boise.”
Still, despite fears and pushback, Canyon County’s first Pride was so successful they almost hit fire occupancy limits with all the people celebrating. It ended with a public marriage proposal onstage, and by the end of the day, around 2,000 people had joined the festivities.
This year, Canyon County Pride is preparing for an even bigger celebration. “It started with a picnic…and turned into so much more,” their website reads. “We envision an Idaho where LGBTQ+ individuals are fully visible, valued, and embraced within every aspect of society.”
The festival line-up and event details aren’t available online yet, but we know the event will take place on June 8, and you can check back at their link for the schedule when it’s posted! https://www. canyoncountypride.com/2025schedule
8. June 14, Spokane Pride [WA]
Probably the second biggest and least rural of the regional Pride celebrations is Spokane Pride, which begins at noon, with a Pride Parade that ends in Riverfront Park for the Festival Kick-Off at one pm. Throughout the day, there will be a vendor fair, live music and tabling from local businesses and nonprofits.
Because Spokane Pride is the same day as activism group Indivisible’s nationwide “No Kings,” protest, there’s going to be a jointly coordinated protest at some point during the day, but details are not available publicly yet. We will update this story when those details are posted.
At 6pm, there’s an all-ages dance party at the Lilac Bowl, located in Riverfront Park and at 7pm, there will be a Dempsey’s/Irv’s reunion show at the Pavilion, harkening back to the historic era of queer culture in Spokane. And all month long, you can learn more about the queer history of Spokane on the first and
Photos: Sandpoint Pride Website
third floors of the Central Library downtown with the Pride History and Remembrance Project.
Learn more about Spokane Pride’s festivities here: https://www. spokanepride.org/pride2025
9. June 20-21, Pacific County Pride in Long Beach [WA]
There is no event information available yet on Pacific County Pride’s website, but we know that on June 20, they’ll be hosting a Pride festival in Long Beach, Washington. We will update this section with more information when we have it. https:// pacificcountypride.com
10. June 21, Yakima Pride [WA]
Yakima Pride begins at 10 am with their Pride Parade (route here), famous for their display of an absolutely massive 130 foot Pride flag. From noon to 6pm, the festivities continue at State Fair Park, with a free Pride Festival featuring live entertainment, food vendors and community building. From 8:30 pm to 2 am, there’s a ticketed after party for the 21+ among us to dance the night away at Pioneer Hall. More information on the Yakima Pride festival can be found here: https:// www.yakimapride.org/our-work/ pride-initiatives/annual-events/pridefestival-parade
11. June 21, Wenatchee Pride [WA]
If you were a fan of Wenatchee Pride’s Queer Garden (for the uninitiated, it’s a beer garden), you’re in luck: it’s back this year for the 2025 Wenatchee Pride Festival, happening from 11 am to 9 pm in Memorial Park. Besides the garden, there will also be vendors, food and live performances in the park. More information on the Wenatchee Pride Festival can be found here: https:// www.wenatcheepride.org/2025wenatchee-pride-festival
12. June 22, Tri-Cities Pride [WA]
With the state of national politics, Tri-Cities Pride is anticipating an even bigger turnout to their annual Pride Festival, which typically garners around 3,000 in attendance. The free festival will run from noon to 6 pm at Memorial Park in Pasco, Washington and feature vendors, exhibitors and live performers.
Kenzie Budge, the Communications Chair on the Tri-Cities Pride board, told Stonewall News Northwest earlier this year that they’ve noticed a heightened sense of community excitement around the event.
“There is so much fear and anxiety and just unknown surrounding the political state of the world right now,” Budge said. “ But I think that fear also inspires so much hope and so much resilience and so much push and drive to be like, ‘No, we are here and we are going to celebrate and we are going to be happy.’”
Learn more about Tri-Cities Pride and how you can join the celebrations here: https://www. tcpridefest.org/2025-tricities-pride
13. June 22-23, Pacific County Pride in Raymond [WA]
There is no event information available yet on Pacific County Pride’s website, but we know that on June 21, they’ll be hosting a Pride festival in Raymond, Washington. We will update this section with more information when we have it. https://pacificcountypride.com
14. June 28, Pride in Perry [WA]
Pride in Perry is another Spokanebased Pride celebration, this time based in the Perry neighborhood on the South Hill of Spokane. The celebration will last from 11 am to 4 pm, with live entertainment, tabling from local artists, vendors and nonprofits, and food specials served at the neighborhood restaurants.
The Perry District is affectionately thought of by some residents as Spokane’s “gayborhood,” playing host to Odyssey Youth Movement, a community center for queer youth; Wishing Tree Books, a queer-friendly children’s bookstore; and a rainbow crosswalk, which has been the repeated site of anti-queer vandalism.
In 2023, Pride in Perry was crashed by members of the Proud Boys, a white nationalist group, holding banners saying “Pedophiles not welcome,” and “Protect white children,” as part of a deliberate targeting of rural and smaller Pride celebrations. Despite the hatred, event organizers told The Spokesman-Review that it brought the community closer together. And for any Pride organizers out there reading this, there are regionalspecific resources available for minimizing risk while planning Pride celebrations, like Western States Center’s Protecting Pride guide.
Learn more about celebrating Pride in Perry and supporting queer youth here: https://www.odysseyyouth. org/prideinperry
15. June 28, Eugene/Springfield Pride [OR]
From 11 am to 7 pm at the Lane Events Center, Eugene Pride will host their annual Eugene/Springfield Pride Celebration. Prior to the celebration, which will feature live performances from over 150 performers including drag queens, musicians, comedians, dancers and poets spread out over two stages, local vendors and family-friendly activities, participants can meet at the Kesey Square for the a rally beginning at 10 am, marching 1.2 miles from the square to the events center. It also features a Youth Zone space created specifically for queer youth, where folks can make buttons,
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Photos: Sandpoint Pride Website
do arts and crafts and play games.
This will likely be a big celebration, since it typically draws a crowd of over 12,000 people. You can learn more about the schedule of events and how to participate here: https:// www.eugenepride.org/festival-25
16. July 11-13, Sandpoint Pride [ID]
The Sandpoint Alliance For Equality (SAFE) is hosting their fifth annual Pride Festival in Sandpoint, Idaho, all weekend long, from June 11 to the 13. The event, which usually boasts around 2,000 community members, will feature live performances from singers, poets, drag queens and kings, dancers, and more, plus tabling from local businesses, nonprofits and advocacy organizations and familyfriendly activities.
We talked to Anne Johnson, co executive director of Community Care at Spectrum Center Spokane. Spectrum Center has tabled at Sandpoint Pride twice, and they “are very excited to be there for 2025,” Johnson said.
Because the festival takes place in such a rural part of Idaho, there have been safety concerns in the past, but Johnson said the organizers worked closely with organizations like Western States Center and the organizations coming to participate to ensure the event is safe.
“It is such a wonderful community event. The organizers of Sandpoint Pride make a real effort to make sure that it’s safe, inclusive and that everybody can have a good time,” Johnson said. “That’s one of the things that stood out to us in our first year, is that they to make sure that everybody, once they were there, felt safe. They put up barriers to block out the protestors. It was fun vibes.”
Johnson was struck by just how much joy they saw at the two Sandpoint Prides they’ve attended. There were plenty of locals there celebrating, but also people who came from even smaller towns across the Idaho panhandle. Multiple people told Johnson it was their very first pride celebration.
One moment that stood out to Johnson from both of the Sandpoint Prides they attended: a drag artist who did Darth Vader themed performances. For Johnson, the Darth Vader drag was emblematic of the whole event: “It’s silly, it’s joyful and it’s all the best parts of community.”
There aren’t many details on the website yet, but you can find more information here when it’s available: https://www.safe-idaho. org/sandpointpride
17. July 19, Silver Valley Pride (Wallace) [ID]
Planning for the July 19 Silver Valley Pride is still underway, but we know they’re planning to host a community event at the Wallace
City Pool. They’re still seeking food vendors, community organizations and artists to showcase their work for a Pride art walk. “Whether you paint, sculpt, recite poetry, sing or create something entirely unique,” Silver Valley Pride is looking for you! You can sign up to be a vendor here and display artwork or talents on the art walk here, and learn more about the event here: https://www. svpcommunity.com
18. July 26, Lincoln County Pride (Libby, Montana) [MT]
In 2022, Lincoln County Pride in Libby, Montana held their first Pride Festival, a small, family-friendly event with drag performances, speakers and even a dog fashion show. Three years later, the event has become bigger and more ambitious, but don’t worry; the dog fashion show is still very much included on the event schedule.
The all-ages Pride Festival runs from 9 am to 7 pm at Kootenai Heritage Memorial Center with vendors, a dj, live music, drag performers, aerial artists, comedy, a kid zone, carnival games and other activities. Then, at 8 pm, the space will transform to an 18+ drag show and food drive. They’re still accepting vendors, so if you want to reserve a table at Lincoln County Pride, or just learn more about the festival, click here: https://www.facebook.com/events/ 1154966709609358/?post_id=12051 24211260274&acontext=%7B%22ev ent_action_history%22%3A[%7B%2 2mechanism%22%3A%22footer_att achment%22%2C%22surface%22% 3A%22newsfeed%22%7D]%2C%22 ref_notif_type%22%3Anull%7D
19. August 1-3, Ocean Shores Pride [WA]
Ocean Shores Pride will host their second annual Pride celebration the first weekend of August, with events starting on Friday evening.
When Brandon Dillon-Butler moved to Ocean Shores, a small town on the Washington coast, about five years ago, he started dreaming about planning a Pride festival there. “I immediately started having a vision of a Fire Island, P-Town destination event,” but it wasn’t until last year that he stepped up to create the town’s very first Pride festival. He was tapped in last minute to help.
“I pulled all the rabbits out of my hat,” he said, working with the Elks organization to make the event happen. It was a huge success, with 60-odd members of the Freedom Riders, the largest LGBTQ+ biker group riding down for the day, locals from around the region and performers from Grays Harbor Pride Coalition. “It was a great first event,” Dillon-Butler said.
This year, he’s dreaming even bigger, aiming to get a little closer to his initial dreams of making the town a Pride destination for people across the Pacific Northwest.
The weekend is going to start on
Photos: Sandpoint Pride Website
“ Being a beach community, it’s not surprising that it is a pretty open community. Many of the people that oftentimes come here or that own properties here also live and spend a lot of time in Seattle, Tacoma, Olympia, and Portland, so it’s not surprising that we have a lot of LGBTQ+ owners, as well as guests. I’ve always felt super embraced and welcomed by this local community.”
Stephen Poulakos, Seabrook Land Company Vice President of Planning & Design
Friday with a 21+ pub crawl to local businesses that have supported the event with sponsorships, which Dillon-Butler hopes will bring the community together, draw in tourist participation and support local businesses.
On Saturday, there’s a Pride golf tournament and a pickleball tournament, where queer folks and allies can compete in friendly sports. A new bar and restaurant in town will be hosting the large festival, blocking off their parking lot for local drag queens, out-of-town talent from Seattle and Olympia and DJs from across the state. There will be a beer garden, and space indoors for celebration, too. And on Sunday, there will be a Pride brunch.
They’re also working with a volunteer coordinator to plan a whole slate of family-friendly events for the weekend, Dillon-Butler said, with a go-kart race, time at the local arcade and miniature golf. If talks with a local bowling alley go well, they might add bowling to that list as well.
“ I figure the more layers of activities that we have, it’s gonna be absolutely fantastic,” Dillon-Butler said.
While Ocean Shores has made the news recently for the mayor’s feud with the local Indivisible group and according to Dillon-Butler is kind of a mixed bag politically, “for the most part, everybody that I’ve experienced is pretty respectful. Like anywhere in the world, you have good and bad, but for the most part, everybody is pretty friendly.”
Last year, he did worry about and prepare for protestors, but none showed up. If any come this year, Ocean Shores Pride is prepared, Dillon-Butler said.
“What do they always say with any good Pride? It’s not successful until you have somebody with a sign protesting, because who are you going to take those annual photos in front of?” he joked.
Attendance was about 3,000 people last year. This summer, Dillon-Butler is hoping and planning for triple that.
You can find more details on the event here when available: https:// www.ospride.com/
20. August 16, Garland Pride (Spokane) [WA]
There is no event information available yet on Garland Pride, which
happens in the Garland District of Spokane, Washington, but we know that they’ll be hosting their neighborhood Pride celebration on August 16. We will update this section with more information when we have it.
21. September 6-7, Boise Pride [ID]
Boise, which recently made headlines for the city’s decision to skirt new statewide flag laws and continue flying the Progress Pride Flag, is gearing up for their “biggest festival yet,” according to their website. Since celebrations aren’t scheduled until September, we don’t have much in the way of details, but we know you can still apply to be a vendor, host a booth or march in the Parade here: https://boisepridefest.org/
22. September 12-13, Grays Harbor Pride [WA]
Grays Harbor County Pride is planning to host their 12th annual Pride Festival this year from 1 pm to 10 pm in Aberdeen, Washington. The theme is “Love Reigns” and the weekend begins with an all-ages, pay-what-you-can prom-themed kick-off party at Events on Emerson in Hoquiam.
On Saturday, the official Pride festival starts at 1 pm at the Grays
Harbor Historical Seaport. There will be free family-friendly activities, vendors, music and live entertainment. And at 7 pm, Seattle drag king Ceaser Hart will host performers from all across the state for a free drag show.
The event is still taking vendor, booth and sponsor registrations. More details on the festivities and how to register can be found here: https:// www.zeffy.com/en-US/ticketing/ grays-harbor-pride-festival--2025
23. September, date TBD, Republic Pride [WA]
Republic, Washington has never had a Pride festival. This might be the year.
Crystal Strong has lived in Republic, Washington with her wife for over 20 years. Now, she’s part of a Pride group that formed recently in response to pushback from rightwing group the Changemakers, who protested a Pride flag hung in the Republic library, which resulted in the loss of state funding for the building. Strong said the loss of funding prompted some in the community to form organized resistance, starting with running candidates in local elections, like for the school board and the city council.
“We’re not going to stand for that anymore,” she said, of the Changemakers who have called queer people “pedophiles” and “groomers”. “I’ve lived in this town for almost 21 years. We were living our lives openly and not with a lot of fear. But the last five years there’s been a change in atmosphere … it’s been unfortunate. It was not like this before, but now I feel like we need a Pride group to stand up to some of this hateful rhetoric.”
The next step for Republic’s new Pride group might be a real Pride
festival, Strong said. She’s hoping to work with Matthew Danielson, organizer of Spokane Pride, to get something on the books for September, though the date is still up in the air.
It’s a move not without risk, Strong said. Her group is currently considering walking in the Republic Prospectors Parade, which is the second week of June, but there’s been “some ugly threats of violence,” that have left their decision up in the air.
“There’s been a lot of talk on some of the local Facebook pages about how they just need to round up all the queers and drag them through the street. The motto up here is shoot, shovel and shut up,” Strong said, referencing a rural slogan typically used to describe getting rid of unwanted animals. “People are getting more brazen about what they’re willing to say openly in public chat spaces, and that’s making folks a little nervous to do public Pride participation.”
The Pride group has joined local protests, and there’s been a few close calls, like people making threats or swerving like they were going to hit the crowd, which has contributed to nervousness.
Still, it hasn’t stopped Strong from dreaming about Pride in Republic. She wants it to be community-service oriented. If they get an official date on the calendar, Strong wants to see a huge attendance.
“ When we do decide to get the Pride thing together, we would want as many people to come from out of town as possible,” she said. “Come and have a summer vacation here, be out and proud and visible.”
We will update this story with official details if Republic decides to hold their first Pride.
Photos: Sandpoint Pride Website
Boise makes Pride flag official city flag to bypass Idaho law that intended to ban it
“The Constitutional rights of our residents are not subject to — cannot be subject to — the political whims of legislative disapproval, and we will not step back from them simply because the principles our community cherishes make some in state government uncomfortable.”
--Boise Mayor
Lauren McClean
This story was written in partnership between Stonewall News Northwest and RANGE, an independent, worker-owned newsroom covering the Inland Northwest. Learn more about RANGE and subscribe to their newsletter at https://rangemedia.co/newsletter/.
by Erin Sellers
Every June for the last 10 years, Boise has flown the Pride flag from its City Hall.
But in April of 2025, the Idaho Legislature passed a law that made it illegal to fly any flags that aren’t on a pre-approved list — that included the American flag, the POW-MIA flag and official city flags — on government property. The Pride flag was not on the list.
The law, which has no stated penalty for violations, went into effect on April 3, 2025. For the last month, Boise has defied it by continuing to fly both the Progress Pride flag and a flag supporting organ donors from the pole outside City Hall.
This Tuesday though, Boise’s decided to follow the law — with a little malicious compliance, that is. By a vote of 5-1, the Boise City Council passed a resolution designating the Pride flag, and any other flags they choose to fly, as “official city flags,” putting them in legal compliance with the letter of the law.
On the same evening, a state away, Salt Lake City made a similar decision. Like Idaho, the Utah Legislature had also passed a law banning unsanctioned flags in government buildings. But on Tuesday, the Salt Lake City Council debuted three new official city flags
that put the city’s sego lily emblem on top of the Progress Pride flag, the transgender flag and the Juneteenth flag.
And closer to home, also on Tuesday, the city of Bonners Ferry engaged in their own rebellion against the new Idaho flag law. Bonners Ferry sits near the Canadian border, and the city has historically flown the Canadian flag in a show of friendship with their neighbors to the north. The Idaho flag law contains an exception allowing cities to fly other countries’ flags for special occasions, so Bonners Ferry passed a resolution designating every single day of the year as a special occasion, so the city can continue to fly the Canadian flag. Fighting over the flag Tuesday’s decision by the City Council, which Boise Mayor Lauren McClean supported, was just the latest move in Boise’s ongoing battle with the state to keep flying the Progress Pride flag.
This year, Boise started flying the Pride flag from City Hall earlier than the usual June, in full view of the Capitol building. On April 15 — 12 days after the flag law went into effect — Attorney General Raúl Labrador sent McClean a public letter demanding she take the Pride flag down and threatening to support
BOISE - To Page 28
Below: Letter from Boise Mayor Lauren McClean to Idaho Attorney General Raul Labrador
Richland community rallies in forceful support of Trans youth at Council meeting
The overwhelming message delivered by residents was one of solidarity, an insistence on compassion, and a clear declaration: Trans kids deserve better. That forceful advocacy, even in the face of an adverse council decision, resonated as the defining voice of the night.
This story first published by Maddison Dolan at https://maddidolan.substack.com/p/ richland-community-rallies-in-forceful
by Maddison Dolan
Acontroversialproposal aimed at restricting Transgender youth in sports, reportedly first introduced by Mayor Theresa Richardson at a prior council workshop, ignited a powerful community response at the Richland City Council meeting Tuesday night. As the council prepared to consider the letter, which proposed aligning with other local officials to ban Trans youth from school sports, the chamber filled with residents, the vast majority there to stand in forceful support of the Trans community and vehemently oppose the measure.
The letter found backing from a segment of speakers and the mayor herself. Arguments were made against having “biological males in
sports,” with one speaker claiming those opposing the mayor were “a minority.” A Richland graduate cited a “biological advantage in ‘males’” and called to “protect women in sports,” while another resident urged the preservation of current athletic opportunities for girls, recalling a time when such programs didn’t exist. Mayor Richardson, during later deliberations, stated that the letter had “come forward for the city’s response,” that councilmembers were “being asked to protect girls in sports,” and claimed other local municipalities were in agreement.
But these voices were largely overwhelmed by a community that united in a forceful show of support for Transgender youth. The atmosphere was charged with
Rainbow Lantern Project: Building LGBTQ+ community through art and our story
“Our Story: A Pride Celebration 2025” event invites participants to share images of their younger and/or current selves alongside heartfelt advice they would offer their adolescent selves. These deeply personal reflections often center on identity, resilience, and the journey toward self-love.
emotion, with many attendees visibly frustrated and showing up with clear purpose. The tension was so high that at one point, an attendee reportedly stormed out, exclaiming, “The city council is a freak show tonight!”
Speaker after speaker rose to champion inclusion and challenge the premises of the proposal. A Trans resident labeled the debate a “nonissue,” pointing out that in youth sports, success often hinges more on individual factors like physical size and development than on gender identity. Another person asserted that the initiative was “not about protecting women or girls; it’s about kicking down a minority.”
In2020, LGBTQ activist Alexander Leon shared a powerful truth: “Queer people don’t grow up as ourselves; we grow up playing a version of ourselves that sacrifices authenticity to minimize humiliation and prejudice. The massive task of our adult lives is to unpick which parts of ourselves are truly us and which parts we’ve created to protect us.”
This reflection resonates deeply with the mission of the Rainbow Lantern Project, a collective art and storytelling initiative that uplifts the voices and lived experiences of LGBTQIA+ people. Its “Our Story: A Pride Celebration 2025” event invites participants to share images of their younger and/or current selves alongside heartfelt advice they would offer their adolescent selves. These deeply personal reflections often center on identity, resilience, and the journey toward self-love.
Collective healing is essential for communities impacted by systemic trauma — be it homophobia, racism, genocide, or poverty. Queer and Trans stories, especially in rural areas, are too often invisible. This project aims to change that by weaving our stories into shared spaces where others can see themselves reflected — and be reminded they are not alone.
Calls for a different focus resonated strongly. “I wish we had less division and animosity in our community, and country,” one resident pleaded. Another speaker urged the council to address more pressing issues and not deny children the chance to participate in sports. The city’s own vision statement — proclaiming Richland “safe, vibrant, and familyfriendly” and “the community you’ll want to call home” — was thrown back at the council by a resident questioning how an anti-Trans stance aligned with these professed values.
Humor cut through the tension when one man joked he was “less obsessed
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“Our Story” launches its 2025 season with a second annual exhibit at Lemon Hill Café in Montesano, WA, on June 4 at 5:30 p.m. as part of Montesano Pride. The exhibit will then travel to Seabrook, WA, for its first-ever Pride celebration on June 7, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.
It will also be featured at:
• Pacific County Pride (Long Beach, June 21; Raymond, June 22)
• Ocean Shores Pride on August 2 and 3
• Grays Harbor County Pride on September 13
If you or someone you know identifies as LGBTQIA+ and would like to contribute a story, please submit your photos and words at: www.rainbowlanternproject.com/ submit.
To follow upcoming events and exhibit details, visit: www. rainbowlanternproject.com/events.
The Rainbow Lantern Project is curated by Carmen Noguer, a Queer healing arts practitioner and local organizer who has been active in Pride events for over three years. She developed the Rainbow Lantern Project during her studies in healing justice as part of the TraumaInformed Engagement and Healing Certification at Evergreen State College.
Supporter at Richland Council meeting with a sign for Trans youth. | Photo by Maddison Dolan
Rainbow Lantern Project on display at Lemon Hill Cafe & Bookstore in Montesano, WA in 2024. |
Photo by Carmen Noguer
Spokane City Council passes ordinance protecting LGBTQ+ community
“I’ve always been a passive supporter, I’ve never shown up. I’ve never stood up, but it’s time to show my support for the vulnerable members of this community. To the members of the LGBTQIA2S+ community, you have more friends than you know. And to the friends that they didn’t know they had, it’s time for you to stand up.”
--Jason S
This story was written in partnership between Stonewall News Northwest and RANGE, an independent, worker-owned newsroom covering the Inland Northwest. Learn more about RANGE and subscribe to their newsletter at https://rangemedia.co/newsletter/.
by Erin Sellers
Nyne Bar & Bistro opened up on a rare Monday evening this week for something a little different than their usual fare. There were no drag performers, karaoke hosts or DJs. Instead, there was a single microphone onstage in front of a projector screen.
At 6 pm, the projector flickered alive, and Matt Danielson and Jeff DeBray gave opening remarks as the Spokane City Council meeting livestream started to play behind them.
Danielson and DeBray, from Spokane Pride and Fuse Washington respectively, were two of the organizers behind the event, a watch party for dozens of Spokane queer folks and their allies to gather and testify in support of the council’s ordinance to declare Spokane a Shield City and grant additional protections for the LGBTQIA2S+ community in the city. Spectrum Center, Trans Spokane and Odyssey Youth Movement were also involved, with Spectrum holding training sessions over the last two weeks to teach people how to testify.
As Council President Betsy Wilkerson read the council’s rules on the screen behind him, Danielson
blew a kiss to the room and the meeting began. For two and a half hours, people waited as council voted on other items, and then heard testimony on the LGBTQIA2S+ protection ordinance. Some of them testified from Nyne, stepping up to the microphone onstage when it was their turn and returning to their tables to the applause of the room.
When detractors of the ordinance testified, making transphobic claims like calling queer people “confused,” comparing homosexuality to bestiality (like former Spokane County GOP chairperson Cynthia Zapotocky) or insinuating that the ordinance was Satanic because it was numbered C36667 — see the 666 in the middle of the number — the watchers at Nyne booed, jeered and corrected false statistics.
Across the county, the school board at Mead School District was discussing a transphobic policy that could require teachers to out transgender students to their parents, and members of the Central Valley School Board were drafting a Title IX complaint against Washington to the Trump administration because of the state’s trans-inclusive sports policy.
But at Nyne and at Spokane City Hall, queer people scored a victory: about two and a half hours after the meeting had begun, the council voted 5-2 to pass the LGBTQIA2S+ protection ordinance, affirming queer peoples’ rights in the city. Nyne erupted into cheers, with people shouting, clinking their glasses and celebrating loudly.
What the ordinance does
We covered it in depth here, but here’s a refresher on what exactly the ordinance does now that it’s passed:
• Created a Shield Law for Spokane, which means that no city resources will be used to assist in investigating or detaining an individual for exercising their rights, which include seeking genderaffirming care. This clarifies cityspecific protection, in addition to the state’s standing Shield Law, which queer community leaders have asked for amid concerns about Governor Bob Ferguson’s commitment to the LGBTQIA2S+ community.
• Replaced outdated language in the city’s Human Rights code, defining gender-affirming care in
the city’s glossary and added “Two Spirit” — an indigenous queer identity — to the LGBTQIA2S+ community definition.
• Prohibits the city from collecting or disseminating information about anyone’s sex assigned at birth, unless it’s related to a criminal investigation.
• Guarantees health insurance for city employees and their families will cover reproductive and genderaffirming healthcare, as well as care for HIV+ people.
• Created an LGTBQIA2S+ liaison officer position at the Spokane Police Department who will act as a point of contact and build trust with the community.
• Requires the city to conduct regular review of policies and practices to ensure they’re equitable and affirming for LGBTQIA2S+ people.
• Directs the city to collaborate with LGBTQIA2S+ leaders and event organizers to ensure public safety and well-being for community members and event attendees.
- To Page 30
SPOKANE
Deleting LGBTQ+ identity in North Idaho schools
This story was written in partnership between Stonewall News Northwest and RANGE, an independent, worker-owned newsroom covering the Inland Northwest. Learn more about RANGE and subscribe to their newsletter at https://rangemedia.co/newsletter/.
by Sophia Mattice-Aldous
The West Bonner County School District has eliminated protections for queer students from its policies that are supposed to comply with federal rules. On its second reading of policy 3280, which outlines equal education opportunities and nondiscrimination, the district’s Board of Trustees voted on April 16 to strike the words “gender identity” and “sexual orientation” from the document.
The policy still protects “…race, color, national origin, ancestry, sex, ethnicity, age, language barrier, religious beliefs, physical and mental handicap or disability, economic or social conditions, or actual or potential marital or parental status or status as a homeless child.”
Trustee Kathy Nash said the wording
regarding gender identity and sexual orientation in school district policy is, “no longer required.”
West Bonner, which is just over the border in North Idaho, joins several eastern Washington school districts in moves aimed at LGBTQIA+ students: Mead School District trustees are mulling a “Transgender Students” policy that, among other things, would bar transgender students from using the facilities of the gender they identify with. Meanwhile, Central Valley School District trustees decided this week to draft a Title IX complaint against the state over including transgender students in sports.
(Mead’s school board delayed voting on their policy change in favor of holding more community discussion.)
In August 2024, Idaho Gov. Brad Little signed an executive order opposing changes to then-President Joe Biden’s final rule for Title IX earlier last year. Because of the rule, the U.S. Department of Education added protections for LGBTQIA+ students from discrimination in schools.The final rule sought to protect against discrimination “based on sex stereotypes, sexual orientation, gender identity and sex characteristics.”
Little’s executive order directed the Idaho State Board of Education to:
Guarantee every female student in Idaho is provided equal opportunity in sports and school to the fullest extent, as guaranteed to them under the original Title IX rules and Idaho law.
Work with the State Department of Education to ensure Idaho public schools are following all of Idaho’s laws related to fairness in women’s sports and continue to update all public schools as the legal challenges to the new Title IX rules unfold.
Though the executive order was couched by Little and his administration as protecting women’s and girls’ sports in public schools and universities, critics and LGBTQIA+ activists have pointed out the orders discriminate against transgender youth. In 2020, Little signed House Bill 500 into law, which restricts transgender women from competing in women’s sports in Idaho. Idaho was one of 26 states that sued the Biden administration over the Title IX changes and blocked it from taking immediate effect.
So far in 2025, at least 10 pieces of anti-LGBTQ legislation have been brought before the Idaho Legislature.
Three have been signed into state law by Little, including:
House Bill 41, which prohibits public schools from displaying flags that represent political, religious or ideological views within school property.
House Bill 96, which restricts state and local government entities in Idaho to only display official domestic government and military flags. Schools, colleges and universities are exempt.
House Bill 264, which directs state correctional facilities, colleges and universities and domestic violence shelters to designate multi-occupancy restrooms, changing rooms and dorm rooms “for the exclusive use by either females or males.” The bill says those facilities must only be used by “members of that sex.”
There was little discussion regarding Policy 3280 at the April school board meeting, except for Trustee Vice Chair Margaret Hall, who did not openly support LGBTQIA+ West Bonner students, but voiced concerns for students facing harassment and discrimination.
“I hope it’s obvious to all of us that we have to protect all children no matter what our own personal beliefs may be,” Hall said.
For more information on LGBTQ+ events in Idaho, go to www. nipridealliance.com.
Sophia Mattice-Aldous is a Murrow News Fellow working directly with newsrooms at RANGE Media and The Newport Miner Newspapers through a program administered by Washington State University. Her reporting is available for use via Creative Commons with credit.
Art by Valerie Osier | RANGE
LGBTQ+ Equality
Weekly National Headlines
by Fabrice Houdart
US News
WorldPride 2025: Celebration Under Siege
As TIME reports, WorldPride 2025 is landing in a few weeks in Washington, D.C., under uniquely hostile circumstances. The article notes corporate sponsors like Booz Allen Hamilton and Comcast have pulled out, fearing a White House backlash. Foreign governments, including Germany, Denmark, and Ireland, have issued travel advisories for LGBTQ+ visitors. The Kennedy Center canceled all Pride programming. Organizers have had to fence in the street fair with security checkpoints—a first in Pride history. Despite the tension, high-wattage events featuring Shakira, Troye Sivan, and Cynthia Erivo are going ahead. At the same time, a massive June 8 march to the Lincoln Memorial aims to reclaim the spirit of resistance.
DC Goes Big for Andry
On June 6, amid the celebrations of WorldPride in Washington, D.C., Crooked Media and The Bulwark are joining forces for a powerful live show and fundraiser at the Lincoln Theatre in support of Andry Hernández Romero, a gay Venezuelan makeup artist who was forcibly deported and disappeared into El Salvador’s infamous mega-prison under the Trump administration. Featuring Jon Lovett, Tim Miller, Sarah Longwell, and surprise guests, Free Andry: A Crooked/The Bulwark Fundraiser At WorldPride blends political outrage with Pride-week celebration to raise funds for the Immigrant Defenders Law Center, which is fighting for Andry’s return.
Trump, HIV and Grindr
Our community is learning, the hard way, that Trump 2025 is not Trump 2017. Just as some began romanticizing George W. Bush, I now hear whispers of Trump 2017 nostalgia — the version where he pledged, in 2019, to end the HIV epidemic in the U.S. by 2030. That bold, bipartisan goal spurred genuine progress: broader PrEP access, at-home testing, and billions in HIV research. But now, the rug is being pulled. NIH has already canceled $450 million in grants, and U.S. aid cuts are gutting HIV testing abroad. In The Hill, Grindr CEO George Arison warns of the consequences, while cuddling the administration a little:
May 21, 2025
Trump could go down in history for his heroic 2019 goal — but only if he and his administration decide to see it through
Queering the Boardroom
New Exchanges Ring The Bell for LGBTQ+ Equality
After LSEG, ASX, and Toronto, Euronext rang the bell—well, bang the gong on Monday. Koppa’s Amar was in town and almost on time for the event. Frankfurt, Mexico City, and other exchanges will follow.
The Gay Business
NYC Pride Faces a Corporate Cold Shoulder
Among my many defects, I enjoy seeing my name in The New York Times. Mostly, because it means old crushes might text. Today, I voiced concern over the 25% drop in corporate sponsorship for NYC Pride, warning it’s not really about budgets but fear: “I find it very difficult to believe this is about the economic context… companies say, ‘I won’t engage on anything L.G.B.T.-related because I don’t want to find myself being a target.’” With $350,000 in lost funding, Heritage of Pride may cancel events and cut community grants, while once-proud sponsors like Target now request anonymity — a quiet retreat that speaks volumes.
Koppa Welcomes Three Global Leaders to Its Inaugural Board
Koppa, which I co-founded with four friends, announced the addition of three trailblazing leaders to its inaugural Board of Directors: Ambassador Chantale Wong, a pioneer in public finance and international development; Victor Madrigal-Borloz, a globally respected human rights expert and former UN Independent Expert on LGBTQ+ issues; and Manisha Dhakal, a fearless advocate for trans rights and Executive Director of Nepal’s Blue Diamond Society. Their combined expertise and lived experience will strengthen Koppa’s mission to build queer
economic power across the Global South.
Copenhagen Tops “Open for Business” Index
Copenhagen has been named the world’s most “Open for Business” city, topping the 2025 global index that evaluates LGBTQ+ inclusiveness and economic competitiveness across 149 cities. The Danish capital earned AAA rating for its inclusive policies, strong governance, and dynamic innovation ecosystem. Cities with high LGBTQ+ inclusion outperform others in human capital, entrepreneurship, and investment attraction. As a proud advisor to Open for Business, I’m particularly heartened to see how the organization has become the global LGBTQ+ business platform of reference.
Semi-cultural desk
David Geffen’s Divorce
I like that this newsletter lived long enough to witness David Geffen’s marriage and divorce. Everybody is focused on the fact that the marriage had no prenup, while I chose to focus on entering the race to become his next husband. I feel I am a reasonable option.
What to stream? The Wedding Banquet
I just watched The Wedding Banquet, and it reminded me of a piece I wrote titled “LGBTQ+ Asians in the US: Between a Rock and a Hard Place” about the specific experience of LGBTQ+ Asian-Americans. My son, who was watching it with me, quickly pointed out that we didn’t laugh much for a comedy.
What to watch? Overcompensating
I have been watching “overcompensating” in hotel rooms lately while patiently waiting for my melatonin to kick in. Benito Skinner’s Overcompensating, reviewed this week in The New Yorker by Inkoo Kang, is a sharp
and unexpectedly moving satire about a closeted college jock performing straight masculinity to absurd extremes. Also, FYI, Benny has a thirsty spread in Attitude Magazine.
Pillion Rides Cannes in Style Harry Lighton’s Pillion, adapted from Adam Mars-Jones’s Box Hill, was Cannes’ queer talk of the town. Alexander Skarsgård, in full dom mode, electrifies as Ray, the alpha biker who awakens something primal—and unexpectedly romantic—in Harry Melling’s gentle, barbershopsinging Colin. I will watch it.
About Magnus Hirschfeld
Born on May 14, 1868, Dr. Magnus Hirschfeld was a trailblazing gay, Jewish-German sexologist whose revolutionary work laid the foundation for modern understandings of gender and sexuality. In honor of his birthday this week, British writer Daniel Brook has released a powerful new biography celebrating Hirschfeld’s legacy— and reclaiming him from the margins of queer memory. Known as the “Einstein of Sex,” Hirschfeld co-founded the world’s first LGBTQ+ rights organization in 1897 and opened the pioneering Institute for Sexual Science in Berlin on May 14, 1919. That same institute would later be destroyed by Nazi youth in one of history’s most infamous acts of anti-queer censorship, yet Hirschfeld’s ideas have endured. Brook’s book revives Hirschfeld’s pioneering research and his improbable love story with Li Shiu Tong, a young Chinese medical student and Hirschfeld’s devoted partner.
Do you have “Gay Voice”?
In USA Today, Oxford linguistics student Erin Broadhurst set TikTok ablaze with her thesis on the so-called “gay voice,” racking up over 8 million views — proving once again that queers asking big questions still break the internet. Broadhurst studied identical YouTubing twins (one gay, one straight) and found that both adjusted their speech depending on who they were talking to — gay or straight. It’s called accommodation theory aparently. Her work in “lavender linguistics” adds a clever data point to a long, messy conversation about voice, identity, and the slippery slope between stereotype and science.
Coming And Going
Kameny’s 100
This week marks what would have been the 100th birthday of Dr. Frank Kameny — a man who didn’t just fight the system; he rewired it. Fired from his government job in 1957 for being NATIONAL - To Page 30
Fabrice Houdart
Photo courtesy of Fabrice Houdart
Marsha P. Johnson:
The Transgender activist who pioneered the fight for LGBTQ+ rights
By Carlota Morgado de Almeida.
This article was published by the New Hampshire Center for Justice & Equality and can be found here: https://nhcje.org/blog/marsha-p-johnson-thetransgender-activist-who-pioneered-the-fight-for-lgbtq-rights
About Marsha P. Johnson
Marsha P. Johnson, a prominent figure in the gay liberation movement of the 1960s and 1970s, dedicated her life to advocating for the rights and visibility of transgender individuals and the LGBTQ+ community. Her contributions to the fight for equality, her role in the Stonewall Uprising, and her revolutionary activism have solidified her legacy as a trailblazer in the ongoing struggle for LGBTQ+ rights.
Early Life and New York City
Marsha P. Johnson was born on August 24, 1945, in Elizabeth, New Jersey, into a working-class, religious family. Assigned male at birth, Johnson began to express her gender identity at a young age, often wearing dresses, which prompted bullying and violence from other children. Despite hiding her authentic self due to societal pressure, Johnson moved to New York City immediately after graduating high school with little more than the clothes she was wearing. There, she found solace and community among other LGBTQ+ individuals and adopted the full name Marsha P. Johnson - the “P” stands for “Pay It No Mind,” which is what Johnson would say in response to questions about her gender.
As an unsheltered teenager living in a marginalized community that was often persecuted and had no legal protection or rights, Johnson turned to sex work to survive. She
experienced abuse from clients and was arrested by the police numerous times, but in drag, she found her strength and learned how to love herself and her identity. Johnson wore bright and colorful clothing she found at thrift stores or that had been discarded and often wore flower crowns, which became indissociable from her image.
The Stonewall Uprising
Johnson’s life took a turn during the Stonewall Uprising. The Stonewall Inn, a popular gay bar in Greenwich Village, was routinely targeted by police raids and harassment. During a raid that took place in the early hours of June 28th, 1969, Johnson and other transgender and queer individuals fought back against discrimination and police brutality, sparking a multi-day uprising that marked a turning point in the LGBTQ+ rights movement.
The Stonewall resistance became a catalyst for increased visibility and activism for the gay liberation movement, leading to the establishment of advocacy groups and organizations across the United States. The year 1970 saw the first Gay Pride Parade and the birth of organizations like the Gay Liberation Front and the Gay Activist Alliance. However, despite her activism with these groups, Johnson denounced the exclusion of transgender individuals and people of color from the gay liberation movement.
Activism and the Founding of STAR
As a result, in the same year, Johnson co-founded the Street Transvestite Action Revolutionaries (STAR) with her close friend and fellow activist Sylvia Rivera, to fight transphobia. It is important to note that the term “transgender” only became commonly used after Johnson’s death, and she commonly referred to herself as a gay person, a transvestite, and a drag queen and used she/her pronouns.
STAR was one of the first organizations in the United States to advocate for the rights of transgender individuals and provide support for unsheltered LGBTQ+ youth who were rejected by their families. Through STAR, Johnson and Rivera worked tirelessly to provide housing (STAR House), food, and support to marginalized queer and trans individuals who, like themselves, faced discrimination and violence on the streets of New York City.
Johnson’s advocacy work with STAR emphasized the importance of community support, empowerment, and solidarity among LGBTQ+ individuals, especially those most vulnerable and marginalized. Her efforts helped raise awareness about the challenges faced by transgender individuals, including homelessness, discrimination, and lack of access to essential resources and support systems.
Legacy and Recognition
Despite sporting a wholesome, smiling presence, Johnson faced numerous challenges and
obstacles, including discrimination, homelessness, and violence, and spent time in and out of psychiatric hospitals during the 1970s. In 1990, she was diagnosed with HIV and was outspoken about the disease and the stigma surrounding it. Her activism always prevailed regardless of her personal struggles, which showed her lifelong commitment the to LGBTQ+ rights movement.
Her tragic death in 1992, initially ruled as a suicide, sparked outrage and demands for a thorough investigation, highlighting the systemic issues faced by transgender individuals, particularly those of color. Despite the community’s suspicions of foul play, as the 1990s were a time of rising violence against the LGBTQ+ community, Johnson’s cause of death was still undetermined. Her legacy as an influential transgender activist has been recognized and celebrated posthumously, with a growing movement to honor Johnson’s legacy, with various initiatives, documentaries, and memorials dedicated to preserving her memory.
Johnson’s relentless activism and resistance paved the way for greater visibility and acceptance of transgender and queer individuals. Her life and activism continue to serve as a beacon of hope and inspiration for those fighting for equality, representation, and justice, at a time when the LGBTQ+ community’s rights are being questioned. Marsha P. Johnson’s unwavering commitment to the liberation of LGBTQ+ individuals remains an enduring symbol of resilience, courage, and the relentless pursuit of equality and acceptance.
Popes, pluralism, and pride:
By the numbers
by Jan Shannon
Why the wall-to-wall coverage of the conclave to elect a new pope? When only 19% of the American population of 340 million identify as Catholic, while 45% are Protestant, why is so much airtime given to the papacy?
It’s not that I’m against seeing all those colorful images of Rome, the cardinals, St. Peter’s Basilica, etc. It just made me wonder: Why don’t media outlets cover all such religious events with this much fervor?
Here’s a little about why it interests me. I’m a church geek. That is to say, I’ve been a Christian since I was 14, earned an master’s of divinity, have served as a pastor, and adore all things church related. Mostly I’m Methodist (not that it’s critically important), but I’m nerdy about all things Christianity in general, including Catholicism. I align myself with the roughly 40% of Americans who identify as Protestant.
So, as the Protestant churches are not under the authority of the Roman Catholic Church, I wondered how many of my fellow Americans were as interested in the conclave as I was. I assume that American Catholics were interested because they follow the teachings of the Pope, so it stands to reason that they would watch the smoke to see when the conclave elected the New Guy (always a guy, never a gal — that’s another article), but that’s only 19% of the population.
Now, I’m no
math major, but even I can see that 40% and 19% don’t add up to 100% of the US. In America, we also have Jews, Muslims, Buddhists (of all flavors), Hindus, and those who follow other world religions, for a whopping total of more than 7% of Americans. That gets our numbers up to 66% of our citizenry. Where are the rest of us?
The US has a large proportion of people who identify with no religion at all. The numbers of the “religiously unidentified” come to 29%. Our nonreligious compatriots constitute a larger percentage of the population than Catholics!
So, again I ask: If Catholics are in the minority in the US, why such great media coverage for their religious rites? What about those of our fellow nationals who practice equally compelling religions? While Rosh Hashanah, Yom Kippur, Sukkot, Passover, and Shavuot are sporadically mentioned on the national news, I have never seen any analysis of the practice, meaning, or symbolism involved in any of those holy days and festivals. I sure learned a lot about conclaves, cardinals, smoke, and church history last week…
Maybe the difference between the attention paid to our Jewish and Catholic friends lies solely in the vastness of the spectacle of the conclave and the size of the crowds in Rome.
But wait... Is that why? Because there’s one massive spectacle that
takes place annually, and it’s got more history, epic scenery, and participants than any papal conclave ever: the Hajj.
There isn’t room in this article to adequately describe the majesty that is the Hajj, so here’s the abridged version: 1.8 million Muslims converge on Mecca for a week and perform a series of rituals, including wearing a single piece of unstitched white clothing, walking counterclockwise seven times around the Kaaba, kissing the black stone mounted on its corner wall, walking briskly back and forth between the hills of Safa and Marwah seven times, drinking from the Zamzam Well, standing vigil at Mount Arafat, spending a night outside at Muzdalifa, and performing a symbolic Stoning of the Devil. I mean, come on! Stoning the Devil?! The conclave had nothing that cool!
So, with nearly five million Muslims living here in the US, why don’t American news outlets cover the Hajj from start to finish with 24/7 reporting live at the event sites like they did the conclave? Hm?
To be clear, the US Constitution calls for us to be a pluralistic society. The First Amendment states there should be “no establishment” of religion and the “free exercise” thereof. The Federal Communications Commission has the authority to grant licenses to broadcasters and set and enforce rules for their content, so why doesn’t it require equal time for all religions? If pluralism is what the Founders intended, then isn’t that
what we should all be striving for?
Wouldn’t it be marvelous if, as a society, we gave as much attention to the significant happenings of nonChristian religions? Wouldn’t it be fabulous if every American could be tuned into the celebrations of all our citizens? Faithful Americans should desire to learn about and come to understand all our people.
I forgot to mention one thing: I’m also Gay. A Gay Christian: not the oxymoron you might think. There are lots of us. Upwards of 20% of the LGBTQ population are at least somewhat religious, with more than 35% of those in my age range identifying as highly religious.
And we Queer folks know how to throw a party worthy of 24/7 media attention. The conclave had red and white regalia, but that’s nothing compared to the rainbow of colors on display at every Pride celebration. And we have the numbers too! Twenty percent of Americans have attended a Pride event, which equals 68 million people! Here I go “mathing” again: 68 million Pride attendees are a lot more than 52 million American Catholics, right? We should get more attention and more love, in order to promote more understanding and compassion from our fellow Americans.
If America is ever going to live up to its pluralistic fundamentals, we need to see all our citizens celebrated equally — those of all faiths, all creeds, and all identities. #GodLovesAll #AllMeansAll
Thoughts from the
Hobbit House
From Airballs to Advocacy:
How I learned teamwork the hard way (and why it matters now more than ever)
“As the LGBTQ+ community and many others face increasing challenges and attacks, we need our teams more than ever. It’s tempting, when things get hard, to retreat into ourselves—pull back into our shells. But what we really need right now isn’t more turtles. We need wolves. We need to run as a pack, to protect each other, to fight side by side.”
by Ryan Oelrich
The first team sport I ever played was basketball in sixth grade at Cornerstone Academy in Helena, Montana. I didn’t exactly join the team by choice—my father declared it was time I picked a sport, and, apparently, puppetry and magic tricks didn’t qualify. Spoiler alert: I was terrible.
I vividly remember one game where I confidently passed the ball straight to a player—on the other team. Another time, I launched a perfect shot… right into the opposing basket. My teammates were understandably unamused. Still, after two years, I clawed my way from “least
is
the
campground, Paca Pride Guest Ranch, along with his husband, Glenn Budlow, and business partner, Tim Leingang. Having purchased land to build a legacy project in the mountains, they went from city boys to rural ranchers, turning their yurt camping experience into a business plan to reinvent the family farm and bring “glamping” to the public. This column shares their ongoing experience in working and living as out and proud members of their community in their guest ranch setting.
valuable player” status to something resembling “average.” Progress!
That do-it-yourself streak was strong in me, even from a young age. So naturally, when I joined the Army National Guard, I suggested during
a tent-building exercise that we each set up a tent solo. Logical, right? My sergeant disagreed. Loudly. He made me run laps, barking, “We fall or fly
Out on
theRanch
The egg baby challenge and other life lessons
“Day after day, the barn becomes a classroom, the animals the co-teachers. And the children — their laughter, their questions, their wide-eyed wonder — remind us that the most lasting lessons often come not through instruction but through experience.”
by David Capocci
It started with a simple question: “Can I ask you something?”
A seven-year-old, fresh off an overnight in one of our yurts, held a mug of morning cocoa like it was sacred. She’d barely slept, the anticipation of seeing the animals too strong to let rest settle in. The alpacas were waiting, and so was I — her
tour guide, ranch hand, and partner in curiosity for the day.
She asked every question you can imagine and then a few more: Why do alpacas hum? Why don’t we take all the eggs? Could she try hatching some at home?
She wasn’t just visiting. She was
David Capocci
one of the owners of
homestead
Ryan and his husband built a Hobbit House that’s become a regional attraction.
Photo courtesy of David Capocci
Humor, Heart, and Heritage: “A Nice Indian Boy” movie review
by Frank Gaimari
If you’re in the mood for a gay romcom, A Nice Indian Boy, directed by Roshan Sethi, is an excellent choice. The film revolves around Naveen, a reserved Indian man, who unexpectedly finds himself falling for Jay, a white man raised in an Indian household. Their shared appreciation for each other and their Indian culture draws them together, transforming what begins as a casual friendship into a tender connection. Filled with humor and sincerity, their chemistry is truly endearing and delightful to watch.
Like any great love story, they face challenges that could derail their romance. Naveen struggles with selfdoubt and fears his traditional parents won’t approve, while Jay deals with his own issues in the relationship. Together, they navigate the complexities of modern love, striving to balance cultural expectations while seeking self-acceptance.
Karan Soni delivers a masterful performance as Naveen, embodying his quiet vulnerability with extraordinary depth. He conveys the inner turmoil of a man on a journey of self-discovery with such nuance that I often felt compelled to reach out and guide him. Jonathan Groff, as Jay, radiates effortless charm
Jonah Blechman: Comedic genius and Queer icon
“Queer or not queer, I’m interested in stories of depth, humanity, humor, and drama across the board. To tell stories with an impact on this world. Whether this is spotlighting difficult subject matter or bringing humor and light.
I’m an actor. I happen to be queer, but there is so much more to me and all of us. I want to develop roles and characters that showcase our complexity and humanity.”
-Jonah Blechman
and warmth, creating a wonderfully authentic character. Their on-screen chemistry is undeniable, adding a captivating dynamic to the story.
Beyond the central romance, the supporting cast truly shines. Sunita Mani is Naveen’s quick-witted sister whose sarcasm evolves into unexpected and heartfelt support.
Zarna Garg and Harish Patel are perfectly cast as Naveen’s parents, bringing humor and warmth to the story. Naveen’s mother, in particular, delivers some of the film’s most tender and unforgettable moments. Meanwhile, Peter S. Kim, Naveen’s coworker, brings plenty of laughs, adding to the film’s delightful charm.
Director Roshan Sethi does a fantastic job of bringing the story to life, skillfully balancing humor and emotional depth without making it feel forced. Each scene flows naturally, and the pacing captures the story’s cultural richness and emotional beats with finesse.
A Nice Indian Boy isn’t trying to rewrite the rules of cinema or aim for high-stakes drama or Oscar glory. Instead, it excels in what it sets out to do. It offers a charming and meaningful take on love that resonates with audiences.
by Frank Gaimari
Ifyou’ve seen Another Gay Movie, you’ve witnessed Jonah Blechman’s incredible talent. His portrayal of Nico is not just acting, it’s a masterclass in comedy.
Nico is bold, outrageous, and delightfully over-the-top, yet Jonah’s performance brings an irresistible charm to the character. Every line, glance, and wild antic is delivered precisely, leaving you no choice but to laugh and fall in love with him. Jonah brought something unique and unforgettable to that role, turning Nico into one of the most iconic and celebrated characters in LGBTQ+ cinema.
Jonah’s brilliance extends far beyond his hilarious and outrageous roles. He has a rare knack for tackling serious, layered characters with unparalleled depth. A great example is his performance in This Boy’s Life, where he plays a teenager in a poignant coming-of-age story. His portrayal is raw, heartfelt, and profoundly moving, proving his extraordinary versatility as an actor. Moreover, This Boy’s Life allowed Jonah to work alongside two acting legends, Leonardo DiCaprio and
BLECHMAN- To page 26
Dive Into fun and fabulousness at Trixie Motel
“We pride ourselves on creating an almost fantasylike experience from the moment you walk in. As no other property like this exists, we understand that our guests and customers come here to escape. We design our hospitality, aesthetics, and concepts to include everyone, allowing them to shed their labels and tags upon entering the pink gate.”
- Angel Najera Avila, Property Manager
by Frank Gaimari
Discover the vibrant spirit of Palm Springs at Trixie’s Motel, where staying the night is just part of the story. This boutique motel truly celebrates LGBTQ+ culture and campy glamour, perfectly reflecting the playful energy of its desert oasis surroundings. With its iconic bright pink exterior, Trixie’s Motel immediately sets the tone for a oneof-a-kind experience. It’s a whimsical and welcoming haven where selfexpression takes center stage and personality shines.
Trixie Motel is more than just retro aesthetics. It is a space that celebrates the joy and resilience of the LGBTQ+ community. Each room is carefully designed to ensure guests feel seen and celebrated. The property’s centerpiece is a stunning pool area, an ideal spot for social media photos, lively gatherings, and soaking under the desert sun.
Curious about this one-of-a-kind getaway inspired by the iconic drag superstar Trixie Mattel, I contacted Angel, the property’s manager. He greeted me with warmth and enthusiasm, eager to share what makes this place special.
Frank Gaimari: How does Trixie’s Motel create a welcoming, inclusive environment for LGBTQ+ travelers?
Angel Najera Avila: We pride ourselves on creating an almost fantasy-like experience from the moment you walk in. As no other property like this exists, we understand that our guests and customers come here to escape. We
design our hospitality, aesthetics, and concepts to include everyone, allowing them to shed their labels and tags upon entering the pink gate.
FG: What makes Trixie Motel stand out among other boutiques in this desert oasis?
AN: Every room at Trixie Motel offers a one-of-a-kind experience, each crafted around a unique theme. However, what truly sets Trixie’s Motel apart is the exceptional sense of community among its guests. While many arrive with expectations shaped by what they’ve seen or heard, it’s the shared moments and connections formed here that create an atmosphere unlike any other. This spirit of togetherness has become one of Trixie Motel’s most cherished hallmarks—something rare, extraordinary, and nearly impossible to replicate.
The atmosphere at our BARbara bar is something you must experience to truly appreciate. It’s the kind of place where strangers enter as individuals and leave as lifelong friends, brought together by shared laughter and unforgettable singalongs to our curated playlists.
FG: Have the staff or guests shared any particularly memorable stories about their time here?
AN: Absolutely! Every guest’s experience resonates differently, and as the team leader, I’m proud to say that our staff is deeply moved and inspired by the stories we’re privileged to be part of. Whether
TRIXIE- To page 26
Photos courtesy of Trixie Motel
Books for Pride Month by various authors
by Terri Schlichenmeyer
You’re going to be on your feet a lot this month.
Marching in parades, dancing in the streets, standing up for people in your community. But you’re also likely to have some time to rest and reflect – and with these great new books, to read…
First, dip into a biography with “Marsha: The Joy and Defiance of Marsha P. Johnson” by Tourmaline (Tiny Rep Books, $30), a nice look at an icon who, rumor has it, threw the brick that started a revolution. It’s a lively tale about Marsha P. Johnson, her life, her activism before Stonewall and afterward. Reading this interesting and highly-researched history is a great way to launch your Pride Month.
For the reader who can’t live without music, try “The Dad Rock That Made Me a Woman” by Niko Stratis (University of Texas Press, $27.95), the story of being trans, searching for your place in the world, and finding it in a certain comfortable genre of music. Also look for “The Lonely Veteran’s Guide to Companionship” by Bronson Lemer (University of Wisconsin Press, $19.95), a collection of essays that make up a memoir of this and that, of being queer, basic training, teaching overseas, influential books, and life.
If you still have room for one more memoir, try “Walk Like a Girl” by Prabal Gurung (Viking, $32.00). It’s the story of one queer boy’s childhood in India and Nepal, and the intolerance he experienced as a child, which caused him to dream of
New York and the life he imagined there. As you can imagine, dreams and reality collided but nonetheless, Gurung stayed, persevered, and eventually became an award-winning fashion designer, highly sought by fashion icons and lovers of haute couture. This is an inspiring tale that you shouldn’t miss.
No Pride celebration is complete without a history book or two.
In “Trans History: From Ancient Times to the Present Day” by Alex L. Combs & Andrew Eakett ($24.99, Candlewick Press), you’ll see that being trans is something that’s as old as humanity. One nice part about this book: it’s in graphic novel form, so it’s lighter to read but still informative. Lastly, try “So Many Stars: An Oral History of Trans, Nonbinary, Genderqueer, and Two-Spirit People of Color” by Caro De Robertis (Algonquin Books of Chapel Hill. $32.00) a collection of thoughts, observations, and truths from over a dozen people who share their stories. As an “oral history,” you’ll be glad to know that each page is full of mini-segments you can dip into anywhere, read from cover to cover, double-back and read again. It’s that kind of book.
And if these six books aren’t enough, if they don’t quite fit what you crave now, be sure to ask your favorite bookseller or librarian for help. There are literally tens of thousands of books that are perfect for Pride Month and beyond. They’ll be able to determine what you’re looking for, and they’ll put it directly in your hands. So stand up. March. And then sit and read.
7 Facts about the Stonewall Riots and the fight for LGBTQ+ rights
2The pink triangle was coopted from the Nazis and reclaimed as a badge of pride.
Before the pink triangle became a worldwide symbol of gay power, it was intended as a badge of shame. In Nazi Germany, a downward-pointing pink triangle was sewn onto the shirts of gay men in concentration camps— to identify and further dehumanize them.
In 1972, The Men with the Pink Triangle, the first autobiography of a gay concentration camp survivor, was published. The next year, postwar Germany’s first gay rights organization, Homosexuelle Aktion Westberlin (HAW), reclaimed the pink triangle as a symbol of liberation.
4
The Mafia ran gay bars in NYC in the 1960s.
It was an unlikely partnership. But between New York’s LGBTQ community in the 1960s being forced to live on the outskirts of society and the Mafia’s disregard for the law, the two became a profitable, if uneasy, match.
The State Liquor Authority and the New York Police Department regularly raided bars that catered to gay patrons. Where the law saw deviance, the Mafia saw a golden business opportunity. A member of the Genovese family, Tony Lauria, a.k.a. “Fat Tony,” purchased the Stonewall Inn in 1966 and transformed it into a gay bar and nightclub.
This article was published by history.com and can be found here: https://www.history. com/articles/stonewall-riots-facts-gay-rights-lgbt
Themovement for LGBTQ rights in the United States dates at least as far back as the 1920s, when the first documented gay rights organization was founded. Since then, various groups have advocated for LGBTQ rights and the movement accelerated in the wake of the Stonewall Riots of 1969. Below is a list of surprising facts about Stonewall and the struggles and milestones of the gay rights movement.
1The first documented U.S. gay rights organization was founded in Chicago in 1924.
Henry Gerber, a German immigrant, founded the Society for Human Rights, the first documented gay rights organization in the United States. During his U.S. Army service in World War I, Gerber was inspired to create his organization by the Scientific-Humanitarian Committee,
a “homosexual emancipation” group in Germany.
Gerber’s small group published a few issues of its newsletter “Friendship and Freedom,” the country’s first gay-interest newsletter. Police raids forced the group to disband in 1925. But 90 years later, the U.S. government designated Gerber’s Chicago house a National Historic Landmark.
3
Three years before Stonewall, a protest for gay rights started in another New York City bar.
In 1966, three members of the Mattachine Society, an early organization dedicated to fighting for gay rights, staged a “sip-in”—a twist on the “sit-in” protests of the 1960s. The trio visited taverns, declared themselves gay, and waited to be turned away so they could sue.
Although the State Liquor Authority initially denied the men’s discrimination claim, the Commission on Human Rights argued that gay individuals had the right to be served in bars. For the next few years in New York, the gay community felt empowered. Police raids became less commonplace and gay bar patrons, while still oppressed in society, had recovered their safe havens.
To operate the Stonewall and its other gay bars, the Mafia bribed the NYPD to turn a blind eye to the “indecent conduct” occurring behind closed doors. They also blackmailed wealthy gay patrons by threatening to “out” them.
5 Police used a 19th-century masquerade law to arrest people dressed in drag.
In the 1940s, ‘50s and ‘60s, LGBTQ people were regularly arrested for violating what became known as the three-article rule—or the threepiece law. The rule stipulated that a person was required to wear at least three gender-appropriate articles of clothing to avoid arrest for cross-dressing. It was referenced everywhere—including in reports about arrests in Greenwich Village in the weeks and months leading up to
Drew Angerer/Getty Images
Homosexual prisoners at the concentration camp at Sachsenhausen, Germany, wearing pink triangles on their uniforms on December 19, 1938. | Corbis/Getty Images
An NYPD officer grabs someone by their hair as another officer clubs a young man during a confrontation in Greenwich Village, New York City in 1970. | AP Photo
the 1969 Stonewall Riots.
The problem is, the law technically never existed.
Instead, accounts suggest that police generally used old, often unrelated laws to target LGBT people. In New York, a law commonly used against the LGBTQ community dates to 1845 and was originally intended to punish rural farmers, who had taken to dressing like Native Americans to fight off tax collectors.
6On the night of the Stonewall Riots, police barricaded themselves inside the bar.
After midnight on an unseasonably hot Friday night in 1969, the Stonewall Inn in New York City’s Greenwich Village was packed when police officers entered the bar. As they began making arrests, patrons started to resist and push back.
What ensued was an uprising that would launch a new era of resistance and revolution.
Close to 4 a.m. on June 28, 1969 the mob of protestors outside the Stonewall had grown so large and unruly that the original NYPD raiding party retreated into the Stonewall itself and barricaded themselves inside. Some rioters used a parking meter as a battering ram to break through the door; others threw beer bottles, trash and other objects, or made impromptu firebombs.
No one died or was critically injured on the first night of the Stonewall Riots, though a few police officers reported injuries.
7 Organizers of the first gay pride parade opted for the “Pride” slogan over “Gay Power.”
The Stonewall Riots made clear that the LGBTQ movement needed to be loud and visible to demand change. Five months after the riots, activists proposed a resolution at the Eastern Regional Conference of Homophile Organizations in Philadelphia that a march be held in New York City to commemorate the one-
year anniversary of the raid. Their proposal was for an annual march on the last Saturday in June with “no dress or age regulations.”
When organizers were looking for a slogan for the event, a member of the planning committee, L. Craig Schoonmaker, suggested “Pride.”
The idea of “Gay Power” was thrown around as well, but Schoonmaker argued that while gay individuals lacked power, one thing they did have was pride.
The official chant for the march became: “Say it loud, gay is proud.”
the
were wrong — plain and simple,” said NYPD police commissioner James
|
During the early hours of June 28, 1969, the Stonewall Inn was raided by police with no warning. Armed with a warrant, police officers roughed up patrons and arrested people for bootlegged alcohol and other violations, including criminal mischief and disorderly conduct. More police arrived and the crowd erupted after police roughed up a woman dressed in masculine attire who had complained that her handcuffs were too tight. | NY Daily News Archive/Getty Images
People started taunting the officers, yelling “Pigs!” and “Copper!” and throwing pennies at them, followed by bottles. Some in the crowd slashed the tires of the police vehicles. As the mob grew, NYPD officers retreated into Stonewall, barricading themselves inside. Some rioters used a parking meter as a battering ram to break through the door; others threw beer bottles, trash and other objects, or made impromptu firebombs with bottles, matches and lighter fluid. | Fred W. McDarrah/Getty Images
Over the next several nights, gay activists continued to gather near the Stonewall, taking advantage of the moment to spread information and build the community that would fuel the growth of the gay rights movement. The Gay Liberation Front was formed in the years after the riots. They are pictured here marching in Times Square, 1969.| Diana Davies/The New York Public Library
A large crowd commemorates the 2nd anniversary of the Stonewall riots in Greenwich Village of New York City in 1971.
Fifty years after the riots, the NYPD made a formal apology on June 6, 2019, stating the police at that time enforced discriminatory laws. “The actions taken by
N.Y.P.D.
P. O’Neill.
Grey Villet/ The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images
The Stonewall Inn is a bar located in New York City’s Greenwich Village that served as a haven in the 1960s for the city’s gay, lesbian and transgender community. At the time, homosexual acts remained illegal in every state except Illinois, and bars and restaurants could get shut down for having gay employees or serving gay patrons. | Redux
COLUMNISTS - Continued
HOBBIT HOUSE - From Page 18
together, Oelrich—ALWAYS.” As it turns out, military tents are definitely not a one-person job.
My DIY instincts didn’t serve me any better in dating. Early in one relationship, I asked a guy to the movies and suggested we each see different films, then meet up afterwards to discuss. Efficient! He blinked at me and said, “You know that’s not how dates work, right?”
On another occasion, I booked a solo vacation without telling my thenpartner. I still can’t believe he stuck around as long as he did.
Luckily, I eventually met someone who didn’t just teach me the value of teamwork, he became my team. He’s now my husband, and together we’ve proven time and again that we’re stronger side-by-side. I dream big and paint fast; he reads the fine print, chooses the perfect color, and makes sure the trim is actually level. He turned my solo missions into true collaborations.
Together we’ve organized community events, launched fundraisers, started organizations, and survived home renovations. It’s not always easy, but it’s always better when we tackle it together.
The teamwork lessons I’ve learned from my husband have served me well in my professional life too. I’ve had the honor of leading a stellar team of community leaders at Priority Spokane who together have succeeded in improving our community in ways that no single individual alone could have. Together this team raised high school graduation rates, housed hundreds of homeless children and their families, expanded mental health services, and more. Teamwork makes the dream work.
Right now, that lesson feels more important than ever. As the LGBTQ+ community and many others face increasing challenges and attacks, we need our teams more than ever. It’s tempting, when things get hard, to retreat into ourselves—pull back into our shells. But what we really need right now isn’t more turtles. We need wolves. We need to run as a pack, to protect each other, to fight side by side.
So, find your team. Join your pack. Build your tent together. And whatever you do, don’t watch a movie alone on date night.
Ryan Oelrich is a highly regarded mental health trainer and facilitator, having trained thousands of professionals since 2008. He’s developed mental health curriculum used by Washington State, and he’s given several TED talks. He is a Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Culture of Health Fellow and has an MBA and an MA in Leadership. Oelrich was awarded the Peirone Prize for service in 2016 and has received congressional recognition for his work on poverty and homelessness issues. Oelrich has founded 3 nonprofits focused on youth issues, and he’s an advocate for increased collaboration and coordination.
REGIONAL -
RICHLAND - From Page 11
with genitalia than people in the city council,” before soberly reminding everyone that “bullying Trans kids is not leadership.” Another speaker challenged simplistic biological arguments by highlighting the existence of intersex people.
The frustration with the council’s handling of the matter was also evident when another resident pointedly characterized the mayor’s actions regarding the letter as “political theater.”
Even during the council’s subsequent deliberations, concerns echoing the public’s sentiments were voiced. Councilmember Kurt Maier presented a detailed critique, citing the lack of scholarships awarded to Trans athletes as evidence of a “nonissue,” warning that the letter dismissed intersex syndromes, involved costly testing, and was a “waste of time,” as the City lacked jurisdiction, directing such concerns to the Washington Interscholastic Activities Association. Councilmember Sandra Kent reiterated the council’s lack of authority, and Councilmember Ryan Lukson also called the engagement a “waste of time,” stressing the council’s nonpartisan nature.
Despite this significant outpouring of public support for Trans youth and the reservations expressed by several councilmembers, the council proceeded with a vote. Following
a motion by Councilmember Ryan Whitten, seconded by Shayne VanDyke, and a determined push from Mayor Richardson — who stated that proponents “are not letting this go” while “requesting an affirmative vote” — the council approved the letter by a narrow 4-3 margin.
While the vote went against the tide of public sentiment expressed in the room, the evening was undeniably marked by the Richland community’s powerful and united stand. The overwhelming message delivered by residents was one of solidarity, an insistence on compassion, and a clear declaration: Trans kids deserve better. That forceful advocacy, even in the face of an adverse council decision, resonated as the defining voice of the night.
“There’s no manual for raising kids around animals, but there are definitely object lessons, if you’re paying attention. That day, she left with more than an experience. She walked away with a mission, a memory, and the seed of something bigger: a sense of care and responsibility.
Day after day, the barn becomes a classroom, the animals the co-teachers. And the children — their laughter, their questions, their wide-eyed wonder — remind us that the most lasting lessons often come not through instruction but through experience.”
engaging. So I gave her a challenge. While it would be too difficult to incubate eggs at home without special equipment, I told her she could still act like a mama hen and guard an egg for seven days. “Don’t crack it, don’t lose it. Protect it like it’s precious,” I told her. Her eyes lit up. She left with her egg baby, a postcard from us, and an invitation to send updates on her success.
There’s no manual for raising kids around animals, but there are definitely object lessons, if you’re paying attention. That day, she left with more than an experience. She walked away with a mission, a memory, and the seed of something bigger: a sense of care and responsibility.
Another child left us with a story, months later, relayed by his mother. Her toddler had picked out one of our “Paca Buddies” alpaca stuffies from the store. Weeks after the trip, he was still taking it to bed each night, cradling it like a baby bird. One morning, he gently pushed mom’s hand away from it: “Don’t touch my alpaca. The farmer says they don’t like to be touched.”
He had listened. More importantly, he had remembered. He had absorbed what we try to teach: the principle of consent, delivered through furry
alpaca encounters.
Of course, not every encounter is quite so tidy. Once, we had two little boys staying with their mom — both adorably wild, both in custom superhero capes. They wanted to help with chores, so I handed out kid-sized tools and brought them down to the chickens.
Right on cue, one hen decided to make a grand exit from this world, keeling over in front of them midsquawk. “She’s just napping,” I told them quickly, mentally revising the morning’s lesson plan. A few moments later, an overzealous rooster made an awkward situation worse.
“Okay! Let’s go rake some hay,” I announced, shepherding them back toward the barn, cape tails trailing behind.
The younger one was still too shy to approach the alpacas. He watched from a distance, eyes wide, while his older brother raked hay in confused circles. Their mom was amazed. “They usually don’t focus on anything longer than 15 minutes,” she said, half stunned. I just smiled. Sometimes the animals don’t need to say a word. Sometimes their silence is the lesson.
Day after day, the barn becomes a classroom, the animals the co-
teachers. And the children — their laughter, their questions, their wide-eyed wonder — remind us that the most lasting lessons often come not through instruction but through experience.
These kids may not remember every detail of their stay. But they’ll
remember what they felt: the weight of an egg in their hand, the sound of an alpaca’s hum, the quiet magic of being taken seriously by a farmer who believed they were capable of more.
And that, we hope, is enough to last them a lifetime.
Paca Pride Guest Ranch is nestled on 17 acres in the rural mountains outside Granite Falls, Washington.
David Capocci, Glenn Budlow and Tim Leingang founded Paca Pride Guest Ranch in 2004.
FILM - CONTINUED
BLECHMAN - From Page 19
Robert De Niro. Sharing intense scenes with DiCaprio—including a fight and a kiss—Jonah showcased his dynamic and fearless nature as an artist. Standing toe-to-toe with two of Hollywood’s greatest names, Jonah delivered a compelling and memorable performance, showing that his talent knows no bounds.
But Jonah’s artistry doesn’t stop there. In addition to acting, he is a dedicated producer committed to spotlighting LGBTQ+ stories. Through his work, he’s helping to ensure these narratives take their rightful place in mainstream media, pushing for greater representation and authenticity in storytelling.
When I contacted Jonah, I wasn’t sure what to expect. However, he effortlessly exceeded my expectations. Jonah was kind, gracious, and witty, making the entire experience delightful. I’m excited to share our edited conversation, which shows his thoughtful insights and sharp humor.
Frank Gaimari: How did being openly gay influence your career choices, especially in the early days of your acting career?
Jonah Blechman: I wasn’t out at the beginning. I started dancing when I was three and doing community theater and commercials when I was eight. So, I was acting long before I was sexual or had any sexual identity.
My first film where I played a queer character was This Boy’s Life, but at that time, we weren’t saying he was a gay character. I thought of him as effeminate, even though I kiss Leo DiCaprio in the film.
FG: Were there any challenges you faced as a queer actor in Hollywood, and how did you overcome them?
TRIXIE- To page 20
it’s a mother and daughter reuniting after years apart or a group of friends gathering for their annual reunion, we aim to make every visit truly special. Our unique concept, combined with the incredible passion of our team, makes achieving this goal possible.
For many, the Trixie Motel represents more than just a getaway—it’s a place to reconnect with their queerness in whatever way is meaningful to them. Time and again, we welcome guests filled with joy and gratitude, excited to experience the magic of our little pink paradise.
FG: How does the Motel connect with and support the broader LGBTQ+ community in Palm Springs?
We are proud to support our community through initiatives like our monthly Trans and NonBinary evenings, where individuals of diverse gender identities can
JB: A moment that stands out in my career was when I was invited to audition for Francis Ford Coppola’s classic film, On the Road. However, my agent advised me against it because the role was for a queer character. I was told to stay away from LGBTQ characters because they didn’t want me to be limited in my opportunities by being typecast. I ended up turning down a lot of work. It wasn’t until I landed the role of Hedwig on the national tour that I was willing to say yes to being out, no matter what was in front of me. I wanted to do the work I am here to do.
I have played many other characters outside of LGBTQ in film and TV, opposite Toby Maguire, Anne Margaret, and Nick Offerman.
FG: Tell us about your experience playing Nico in Another Gay Movie and what drew you to the role.
JB: When my manager approached me about Another Gay Movie, I initially hesitated to take on the project. I had never worked in comedy before, and I found the concept crude, which led to many strong opinions on my part. However, the idea lingered in my mind, and it troubled me how much it affected me. I enjoy taking on challenges in my work, so I decided to reflect on my feelings about the project and ultimately chose to pursue it. I even took on the role of executive producer for the film.
Here’s a funny bit of behind-thescenes trivia—I was initially drawn to Michael Carbonaro’s character, Andy, while Michael wanted to take on Nico. With the guidance of Todd Stephens, the director, we figured out which roles best suited us.
Stepping into Nico’s shoes was daunting at first. It scared me because it was such a femme character, but once I worked with the director,
and he helped me to calibrate to that level, it was an extraordinary liberating experience. It’s incredible to know how much joy and laughter Nico continues to bring to audiences.
FG: What was it like revisiting Nico’s character for Another Gay Sequel: Gays Gone Wild?
JB: There was a different cast this time. The others from the first film couldn’t continue. Their agents wouldn’t let them. That all happened in the three weeks before we filmed. So, it changed the movie in a big way.
But it ended up being an incredible experience. I got to direct and choreograph the Golden Showers musical number. It was a thrilling challenge, and I’m immensely proud of the energy it brought to the film. And I got to showcase my singing and dancing.
FG: How do you think LGBTQ+ representation in media has evolved since you started your career?
JB: It’s been three decades since I first played a queer character. There weren’t queer teenage characters represented in film and TV at the time. LGBTQ+ acceptance has grown considerably, and we’re now seeing the nuance of different representations—more genuine and multi-dimensional queer characters. Thank God for that.
FG: Do you have a funny story from filming Another Gay Sequel: Gays Gone Wild?
JB: Absolutely! One of the funniest moments was during the filming of the Golden Showers musical number. We shot it in a functioning bathhouse in Ft. Lauderdale, adding authenticity. The funniest part was that the bathhouse remained open during filming. As I sang and danced, men in towels wandered by, looking
utterly baffled about what they had just stumbled upon! It was surreal and unforgettable.
FG: Are there any queer roles or stories you’d like to tackle in the future?
JB: Queer or not queer, I’m interested in stories of depth, humanity, humor, and drama across the board. To tell stories with an impact on this world. Whether this is spotlighting difficult subject matter or bringing humor and light.
I’m an actor. I happen to be queer, but there is so much more to me and all of us. I want to develop roles and characters that showcase our complexity and humanity.
FG: What advice would you give young LGBTQ+ actors trying to break into the industry?
JB: If the opportunities you want don’t come, create them and amplify your voice. Surround yourself with a supportive, creative community, and always remember that your sexuality is just one part of your story.
FG: What projects or causes are you passionate about outside of acting?
JB: I’m passionate about challenging religious organizations that promote exclusion or hatred toward the queer community. Everyone deserves to feel connected to their spirituality or faith without being alienated for who they are.
With over thirty years of experience in the industry, Jonah Blechman continues to inspire, entertain, and advocate for a more inclusive world. Whether you’ve followed him from the beginning or just discovered his work, his contributions to film and LGBTQ+ storytelling are undoubtedly worth celebrating.
connect, share experiences, and exchange valuable information. In addition, we host inclusive pool parties that celebrate selfexpression, encouraging everyone to embrace their identity without limits—whether they choose to be bold, queer, extravagant, or anything in between.
The true power of these events lies in the connections they create. They inspire hope, foster a sense of belonging, and help envision a future where labels no longer divide us—everyone is welcome to join the celebration.
Whether you’re heading to Palm Springs for the sunshine, the nightlife, or a little relaxation, Trixie’s Motel is the perfect home base for your adventure. Book your stay, pack your sunglasses (the sparklier, the better), and prepare to sashay into an unforgettable escape.
210 W Stevens Rd, Palm Springs, CA 92262
trixiemotel.com
angel@trixiemotel.com Tel: 760-808-0014
Trixie Motel
June
2025 Queer Pride Puzzle
Queer Pride Puzzles entertains with an inventive collection of japes
by Kirkus Indie Review
Looking for a dollop of LGBTQ+ lore with your brainteasers? This beguiling puzzle book has you covered.
Puzzle-maker Shatzer presents hundreds of word puzzles, logic puzzles, mazes, and trivia quizzes, all of them featuring queer themes. The roster includes word searches on a variety of queer-friendly subjects from The Wizard of Oz (look for “Poppy/Field” and “Judy/Garland”) to Joe Biden’s lesbian press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre; “Queerdoku[s],” which are like Sudokus but with letters; decoding puzzles constructed around witticisms from the likes of RuPaul; and word jumbles that yield lubricious puns, like, “When cruising at the mostly-straight gym, make sure you don’t get this” (“spotted”).
For those who prefer visual-spatial tests, there are intricate mazes, including an elegant one with branching walls shaped like the Greek letter lambda, and a spotthe-difference puzzle featuring 16 minutely altered versions of the National Coming Out Day cartoon logo. Brainiacs will find knotty logic puzzles that ask them, for example, to deduce the rankings of contestants in a Miss Red drag queen pageant
from a set of gonzo clues (“Candi Apple was not asked about climate change”).
Shatzer offers an extraordinary variety of puzzle types at many skill levels, from simplistic crosswords to difficult, abstract take-offs on classics, including “invisible mazes” that don’t even show where the maze walls are. (There’s a complete answer section at the back for those who get stuck.) The author explains the puzzles in brief how-tos that combine lucid instructions with feisty queer attitude. (“Those homophobic bigots on the right may say “Don’t Say Gay”, but here we say Gay all the time as loud as possible and as many times as possible!”). Solving the puzzles also provides a blithe immersion in queer trivia and humor. (One “namedropping” puzzle unveils an Ellen DeGeneres one-liner: “Twice I have shown up at a party wearing the same thing as someone else. Both times it was William Shatner.”)
Hardcore puzzle afficionados and casual gamers alike will find plenty of amusement here.
An inventive and entertaining collection of japes.
“The history of LGBTQ+ people can be hard to find, usually never taught or even mentioned in schools. Even with the increase of queer characters on TV shows and movies in the last decade, our representation isn’t equal to our actual population. Many kids growing up don’t even know of the wide variety and rich history of the LGBTQ+ community. I certainly didn’t while growing up!
We are award-winning actors and actresses, athletes in every sport imaginable, politicians, business leaders, news and media journalists and personalities, musicians and authors of every genre, scientists, astronauts, and more. I decided I wanted to make a puzzle book about them and therefore about all of us.
Answer Key on page 28.
Download the printable June 2025 Queer Pride Puzzle here:
So when you’re solving these puzzles, feel free to hop on the internet, look up and discover these amazing LGBTQ+ people that you may not have heard of before! Have fun and a sense of humor when going through these pages. And especially have a sense of pride: in yourself along with all the people mentioned in this book..”
- Kerry Shatzer
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BOISE - From Page 10
future legislative action “to deny state tax revenues and other appropriations to the City of Boise or any other governmental entity that does not follow state law.”
On April 25, McClean released a statement of her own, refusing to comply with the law.
“The Constitutional rights of our residents are not subject to — cannot be subject to — the political whims of legislative disapproval,” McLean wrote, “And we will not step back from them simply because the principles our community cherishes make some in state government uncomfortable.”
On Easter Sunday, which happened to fall on Adolf Hitler’s birthday (a date sometimes used by white nationalists as a day of action), conservative provocateur Casey Whalen posted a video of influencer David Pettinger using a ladder to scale the city’s flag pole. Reaching the top, Pettinger covered the Pride flag and the Donate Life Month flag — which celebrates organ donation — with black garbage bags. Pettinger then added an Appeal to Heaven flag to the pole, which became a symbol of far-right movements across the country after rioters on January 6, 2021, flew it as they stormed the US Capitol building, temporarily halting the certification of the 2020 presidential election.
Later the same day, McClean herself came to City Hall to uncover the Pride and Donate Life Month flags and remove the Appeal to Heaven flag.
Though the Republican-sponsored Idaho bill to ban non-government flags passed the legislature by a large margin, there was a fair bit of fighting in the legislature, too. Queer Idahoans testified against the bill, which they felt targeted the Pride flag.
“All of the images and examples they used during the floor and the committee sessions were showing images of Pride flags,” said Nikson Mathews, the chair of the Idaho Democratic Queer Caucus and 2024 Idaho House of Representatives candidate, who advocated against the bill.
Even some Republicans, like Representative Lori McCann (RLewiston), argued against it.
“What it seems like we’re getting to is there’s only one flag that’s objectionable and that’s the rainbow flag we’re seeing,” she said. “We’re again overreaching our ability here to tell our local cities or our counties what they can and can’t do in their own city and that’s where I say that we have a problem. Our [Idaho
Republican party] platform clearly defines that we believe in local control, and for that reason I think we are getting way out again in front of our skis.”
In an interesting wrinkle, the bill’s lead sponsor, Heather Scott (RBlanchard), has her own rich history with flag fights: a few years ago, she threatened to sue news outlets for publishing a photo of her posing with the Confederate flag that she’d posted on her campaign website. Her caption read, “I posed with a Confederate flag on a parade float to show that our First Amendment right is one of the most important rights we have.”
About the bill she sponsored, though, Scott said earlier this year, “We don’t want governments to be promoting division, political ideology or any social movements.”
Queer Boise residents speak out Though advocates lost the fight against the bill in the legislature, some, including Mathews, were in attendance on Tuesday as the Boise City Council voted to make the Progress Pride flag an official flag.
The chambers that evening were full — “Standing room only,” Mathews told RANGE — and people protesting the city’s support for queer people congregated in the back.
“Some of the people there protesting, got rowdy, got loud, were disruptive,” Mathews said. “They had to be told multiple times to quiet down and let business proceed.”
At one point, the city council had to call a recess to reestablish order in the chambers.
It made for a tense evening, said October, a queer burlesque producer who had a second row seat at the meeting.
October, who asked to use her first name only because of concerns for her safety, said the second the bill passed, the room exploded with yelling from the back. Two men in front of her stood and displayed the American flag.
“The contrast of being relieved and wanting to be excited in that moment, but it’s hard when you’ve got these people yelling behind you — it’s just a reminder that everything is going to be a fight,” October said. “Everything we want to do, everything we want to accomplish, is going to be a fight.”
Despite the protestors, Buck D’Licious, a queer, transgender drag performer based out of Boise, felt a lot of solidarity at the meeting.
“Walking up to the City Hall steps, I was nervous,” D’Licious said. “But as I walked up, the closer I got, the more I just saw this sea of rainbows and rainbow flags. So many people
out there to show their support, even though this wasn’t a situation where City Council was taking public comment.”
Mathews was struck by the way the tenor of the council members’ discussion centered queer peoples’ experiences.
“They spoke about the harm of legislators creating laws like this. They spoke about the harm of targeting the community, and making people feel unsafe and unwelcome, and they were very direct and straightforward and they named the harm,” Mathews said. “That is what I wish all of our elected officials and leaders would do with this legislation because this flag ban bill is terrible.”
For D’Licious, who has lived in Idaho their whole life, the vote was an “emotional moment.”
“ I almost cried several times during this hearing, but one of the things that the mayor said that really stood out to me was that in order to uphold our values — diversity and this welcoming city, where it’s safe for everyone — sometimes you have to change the system and that is what they’re choosing to do now,” D’Licious said.
“As a queer person living in Idaho, the past few months have been really hard,” they added. “I haven’t felt very safe in my community, in my hometown, in my home state, and so to come to the City Council meeting and to hear our counselors in overwhelming support of upholding Boise city values of inclusion and welcoming and equity and diversity, that was really, really impactful.”
It was a refreshing difference from the frustration of lobbying at the state level against an avalanche of anti-queer bills, which Mathews has described as “a painful experience,” during which his personal testimony was often disregarded or disrespected by legislators.
Answer Key to puzzle on on page 27.
Mathews wants allies to “bring that same energy” to harmful legislation at the state level.
This session, the Idaho Legislature passed multiple laws targeting queer people: HB 270, a new indecent exposure law activists fear will be used to target transgender people; HB59, which allows healthcare workers to deny medical care on the basis of religion; HB352, a “Don’t Say Gay” bill that bans any discussion of sexual orientation or gender identity in schools; and two pieces of nonbinding legislation that asked the Supreme Court to end the nationwide legalization of gay marriage, and commended the Boise State University’s volleyball team for refusing to play against a volleyball team with a transgender player.
After the meeting ended, October, Mathews and D’Licious celebrated in their own ways.
October went to a pole dance class with another person who had attended the meeting. “ We were talking about it at the studio, just like, ‘Damn, we did it.’”
Mathews went out with a group of queer people.
“We cheered to the decision because you’ve gotta celebrate these moments,” Mathews said. “It’s more than just about a flag. This is about a leader saying ‘No, we’re not gonna do that.’ This is about standing up to what is happening in our country and what is happening in our state.”
D’Licious returned home to their wife.
“I gave them a huge hug and a kiss, and we had dinner. It was fantastic. It felt like a win, and we haven’t had a win in a long time,” they said. “It was just this feeling of elation, even in the face of everything that has happened in the world, in our community and in our state, for this one day, we won.”
QUEERDOKU ANSWER - Billy Eichner
Billy Eichner is an American actor, comedian, screenwriter and producer, born in New York City and now residing in Los Angeles. He is the creator and star of Billy On The Street by Funny Or Die, which got him a Primetime Emmy Award nomination. He’s had many memorable roles in TV and
i l m s i n c l u d i n g P a r k s and Recreation, Dif icult People, American Horror Story, and the voice of Timon in the live action Lion King In 2022 he cowrote and starred in the
o m a n t i c c o m e dy Bros He’s also worked w i t h p o l i t i c a l g r o u p s Glam Up The Midterms and Swing Left
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SPOKANE - From Page 12
What does it cost?
One argument expressed against the ordinance was that it wastes taxpayer dollars. Even Council President Betsy Wilkerson expressed nervousness about the sticker price of the ordinance, which she said was around $400,000 every year.
But Council Member Paul Dillon, who proposed the ordinance, said that an HR department analysis of the costs associated with the ordinance found it would be “budget neutral” and that it currently costs Spokane taxpayers no additional dollars. That roughly $400,000 cost would only come into play in a worst case scenario, like if the state stopped covering some of the costs of insurance coverage and left the city committed to paying for genderaffirming, reproductive and HIV healthcare.
Even if the state did remove coverage and Spokane was on the hook for the cost, to Dillon, “it’s worth every goddamn penny.”
“Saving a life is worth it,” Dillon said. “A right isn’t a right unless you can access it.”
The testimony
The ordinance brought out one of the largest crowds of the year to council, rivaled only by the community support of the resolution to reaffirm Spokane’s commitment to the Keep Washington Working Act. Over 67 people had signed up to testify on the ordinance, so many that the council voted to limit testimony to two minutes each instead of the usual three.
For hours, people shared vulnerable stories with the council, speaking about their experiences as queer people living in Spokane.
Jacob Schwartz, a board member of Spokane Pride who testified from Nyne, said that he’d built his life here in Spokane, growing up here, working here and worshipping here “as a proud gay Christian.” He said that without support from queer community here, he “wouldn’t be alive today.”
He thanked the council for bringing the ordinance forward. “My younger self needed you, our youth needs you now, and we are here to stay,” Schwartz finished. At Nyne, he was met with cheers.
Evee Polanski, the operations director at Spokane Community Against Racism (SCAR), spoke about the culture of fear that had been created by President Donald Trump’s barrage of anti-LGBTQ+ policies.
“We’re seeing how these national
policies have a real impact locally: they create stress, anxiety and fear for our community,” Polanski said. “You’ve probably noticed the sheer amount of people doing their testimonies virtually because of the fear it causes.”
In the wake of chaotic and cruel federal policymaking, Polanski said, “it is important that our local city government prepares and puts protections in place, like this ordinance that provides safety and freedom for all of our community members, in particular, our LGBT community members that are currently under attack.”
While testimony is old hat for Schwartz and Polanski, who are associated with progressive organizations doing advocacy work, for other queer people, it was their first time stepping up to the dais to share their stories.
Alexander, who asked to use his first name, showed up to the April 21 meeting, where council held their first reading of the ordinance. The room was much emptier than it was this week, and Alexander felt “terrified,” and alone, like he might be the only trans person in the room that day.
When he showed up to a full room at City Hall on Monday, Alexander was heartened. It was a big step for him to speak publicly about his experience as a trans person.
“I live a pretty quiet, introverted life and I didn’t think that it was important for me to talk about who I am or my personal experience previously, to be completely honest,” Alexander told RANGE in an interview this week. “ But with tensions being as high as they are and my community being as persecuted as it is, I think that it’s really important for everyone to step up a little bit.”
“ In places like Spokane where it’s such a melting pot of religious and political and cultural backgrounds, I think that it’s important for people to say who they are, so everyone knows who they’re working with, who they’re friends with, who provides them services, and who is their friendly neighbor,” Alexander said.
Alexander wasn’t the only person who had never testified before and turned out just for this ordinance. There were allies at the meeting too, people like Jason S., who said he didn’t even know what council district he lived in.
“I’ve always been a passive supporter, I’ve never shown up. I’ve never stood up, but it’s time to show my support for the vulnerable members of this community,” Jason S. said. “To the members of the LGBTQIA2S+ community, you have
more friends than you know. And to the friends that they didn’t know they had, it’s time for you to stand up.”
Alexander found Jason’s testimony especially moving.
“ When there’s such a vocal, hateful portion of the population, it’s really important to know that there are very quiet people out there who support you, who don’t hate you,” Alexander said. “You have to be explicit in your advocacy or risk complicity. That is a big part of why I wanted to provide my testimonies and a big part of why I so deeply appreciate allies providing theirs.”
Celebrating in community
The second the ordinance passed, the livestream at Nyne was turned off so people could celebrate, buying each other drinks, congratulating each other and complimenting those who took the mic to testify.
Soon, people who had been watching from City Hall began to trickle in, met with applause as they joined the group. Someone put on a playlist of queer pop music.
Chappell Roan was blasting in the background 45 minutes later when Council Members Lili Navarrete, Paul Dillon and Zack Zappone, three of the five council members who had voted in favor of the ordinance, showed up at the bar to celebrate with the community, joined by some city staffers, too.
On Tuesday, nearly a full 24 hours after the ordinance passed, Alexander feels “fantastic.”
“2025 has been very difficult for me. It has been very difficult for my partner, and for my friends, in the face of all the bigotry that has been at the forefront of the media,” Alexander said. “I don’t want to not believe in people and everything that has been happening has honestly hurt my faith in humanity a little bit.”
“But I don’t want to be passive and I don’t want to be cynical. I want to fight and surround myself with cool people and care for others in the way that I want to be cared for. This ordinance felt like doing that in a real way,” he said. “I think that it felt like a very much needed win. Probably the first big win for me in 2025.”
For anyone who, like Alexander, has been feeling down or “doubting their place in this nation and in this community,” Alexander wanted to give a piece of advice:
“Step up instead of stepping back, because helping people really does help yourself, and caring for other people is caring for yourself.”
NATIONAL - From Page 14
gay, Kameny didn’t disappear quietly. Instead, he sued the federal government, coining the now-iconic slogan “Gay is Good,” and laying the groundwork for a movement. His activism predated Stonewall, helped declassify homosexuality as a mental illness, and ultimately led to the end of the federal government’s ban on LGBTQ+ employees.
Gill & Miller Recognized
Tim Gill and Scott Miller were named to the TIME100 Philanthropy list for 2025. Gill, who was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom earlier this year, and Miller, a former U.S. Ambassador to Switzerland, have directed nearly $450 million in grants through the Gill Foundation. Their recent focus has been defending marriage equality and supporting state-level bans on conversion therapy, including a case now headed to the U.S. Supreme Court.
Beth Ford At The Pinnacle of Business
You can count on two hands the number of lesbians at the top of corporate America, which is why Beth Ford’s recognition at No. 12 on this year’s Fortune Most Powerful Women list is a big deal. As CEO of Land O’Lakes, Ford defies expectations in an industry — and a power list — still overwhelmingly straight and male. Her presence is a rare and powerful reminder that LGBTQ+ leadership at the highest levels of business is possible, impactful, and long overdue.
The Gay Agenda
June 5: LGBT+ VC Summit
The 3rd Annual LGBT+ VC Summit is an invite-only gathering of LGBTQ+ people and their allies in venture. Reserve your spot.
June 11: GLAAD Turns 40, Still Sparkling
GLAAD and The Hollywood Reporter will toast Pride ’25 with an exclusive West Hollywood bash on June 11, marking four decades of what the invite describes as “rewriting the script” for LGBTQ representation. The organization has so much to celebrate.
June 27: Mixner’s Corner Dedication in NYC
On Friday, June 27, at noon, the corner of West 47th Street and Eighth Avenue will be renamed “Mixner’s Corner” in honor of LGBTQ+ civil rights icon David Mixner. I’ll attend as David was always an encouraging presence in my life, and I genuinely miss him.
