Sun Sentinel Palm Beach Edition
PRIDE AND PROTEST
Hundreds in South Florida, and thousands across U.S., rally for LGBT rights
Supporters of LGBT rights marched and rallied across the country on Sunday, celebrating gains but angry over threats posed by the administration of President Donald Trump.
In Fort Lauderdale, more than 300 people gathered at Huzienga Park on Sunday afternoon to show their support for a common cause.
“It’s about visibility,” said Frank Ponce, 24, of Davie. “The more that we push a message out there and show that we’re here, you can’t ignore that.”
Standing next to his mother, Robin, Ponce waved a rainbow flag that read “One Pulse,” an ode to the Orlando Pulse nightclub shooting that
“It doesn’t matter what your lifestyle is. We all deserve love and acceptance and equality.” Cecilia Morales, 27, a participant in the Fort Lauderdale rally
left 49 people dead one year ago today.
In West Palm Beach, about 500 people attended an equality rally on Clematis Street near City Hall.
Nearly 100 cities, including Washington, D.C., and Los Angeles, held similar events on Sunday.
The Equality March in Washington was endorsed by virtually every major national advocacy group working on behalf of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender Americans.
Activists have been embittered by the Trump administration’s rollback of federal guidance advising school districts to let transgender students use the bathrooms and locker rooms of their choice.
They also complain that Trump, who campaigned as a potential ally of gays and lesbians, has stocked his administration with foes of LGBT rights, including Vice President Mike Pence, Attorney General Jeff Sessions, and Health and Human Services Secretary Tom Price.
“It doesn’t matter what your lifestyle is. We all deserve love and acceptance and equality,” said Cecilia Morales, 27, who hoisted a sign at the Fort Lauderdale rally that read “Impeach the Peach.”
Throngs of marchers, many thousands strong, paraded past the White House and toward the Capitol, trailing behind a giant rainbow flag near the head of the procession.
“We’re here, we’re queer, get that Cheeto out of here,” was among the chants directed at Trump.
The day included the first-ever gay pride parade in Grosse Pointe, a prosperous Detroit suburb. It began at Grosse Pointe South High School to emphasize support for teens who are gay or transgender.
Two 15-year-old marchers, Jessica Dodge and Shekinah Aho, held hands and wore shirts that said, “Make America Gay Again.”
The Los Angeles pride parade was renamed the ResistMarch, and tens of thousands turned out in Hollywood, some carrying rainbow flags or signs reading “Love Trumps Hate.” Speakers included U.S. Reps. Maxine Waters and Nancy Pelosi, and RuPaul, the host of “RuPaul’s Drag Race.”
Waters led the crowd in a chant of “Impeach 45.”
“We’re going to take our country back from him,” she said. “I know that you have the strength. I know that you have the courage. And I know that each of you understand you have the power.”
Back in Washington, the activist leaders on hand included Sarah Kate Ellis, president of GLAAD, which monitors media coverage of the LGBT community.
She noted that Trump, breaking from the practice of Barack Obama, has declined to issue a proclamation in honor of Pride Month, and that the Trump administration has deleted questions about sexual orientation from planned federal surveys.
“If you look at their prioritization, we’re really low on it,” she said. “There absolutely is a resistance aspect to this march.”