Opinion: Pride Is Dying — And It’s Happening Fast

The Pride movement in the United States is not just under attack — it is being actively dismantled.

Only months into President Donald Trump’s return to power, key legal protections for LGBTQ+ Americans are being reversed at a pace and scale that is unprecedented. For the overwhelming majority of Americans, this is no longer about equal rights — it is about confronting what they see as a radical and fringe agenda, particularly from extremist elements within the transgender movement. These activists have brought overtly sexual content into public view, including schools and children's spaces, under the banner of inclusion. Far from promoting tolerance, this shift is widely viewed as a direct assault on traditional social and moral norms. As Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth bluntly put it, “We are done with this shit.”

From Supreme Court rulings to cultural erasure, what we’re witnessing is not a slow erosion but a rapid dismantling of LGBTQ+ visibility, support systems, and legal standing. And based on the current trajectory, it’s going to get worse.

A 1,000-foot rainbow flag is carried along the parade route for World Pride 2025 on June 7 in Washington, DC. Kent Nishimura/Getty Images

The Supreme Court Sets the Tone

The most striking blow came this June, during what is now branded as “Pride Month,” when the Supreme Court upheld Tennessee’s ban on gender-affirming procedures for minors. This ruling did not restrict legitimate medical care — it affirmed the state’s responsibility to protect children from irreversible and ideologically driven interventions. Claims of mental health crises among so-called “trans youth” have been weaponized as emotional blackmail to pressure society into accepting gender mutilation. There is no credible statistical evidence supporting these claims — only activist rhetoric aimed at dismantling the natural social order and undermining God’s established design for male and female. What’s being sold as compassion is, in truth, a coordinated campaign to destabilize moral foundations, confuse the next generation, and manipulate parents into abandoning their God-given responsibility to protect their children.

The decision came during what LGBTQ+ movement calls “Pride Month,” a timing the activists portrayed as symbolic cruelty. Dallas Ducar of Fenway Health claimed it was part of a “calculated attack” on the transgender community. In truth, the ruling represents a long-overdue course correction — not an assault on anyone’s existence, but a defense of children, families, and society’s moral integrity. What LGBTQ+ activists describe as “resilience” is, in many cases, relentless ideological pressure aimed at coercing public institutions, parents, and communities into accepting radical gender ideology as normal and unquestionable.

From Celebration to Cancellation

This did not happen in isolation. Around the same time, the Kennedy Center canceled several Pride-related events following changes in leadership under the current administration. President Trump posted on social media, “NO MORE DRAG SHOWS,” referring to performances he characterized as inappropriate for a publicly funded institution. As a result, a full week of World Pride events originally scheduled at the Kennedy Center was either canceled or relocated to other venues. Several events featuring transgender performers and related Pride activities were affected.

The Disappearance of Support

The Department of Health and Human Services announced that, starting next month, the specialized LGBTQ+ support component of the federally funded 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline will be discontinued. The general Lifeline service will remain available to all callers. This change reflects the position that the general crisis support service is intended to provide equal treatment for everyone, without granting special privileges to any particular group.

Understanding the “40%” Statistic on LGBTQ+ Youth and Suicide

2023 Reports claming that nearly 40% of LGBTQ+ youth have seriously considered suicide are based on voluntary self-reported surveys conducted by advocacy organizations. These surveys collect data from individuals who identify as LGBTQ+ and choose to participate, often through online platforms or community networks. Because participation is voluntary and targeted, the data represents a specific subset of youth rather than the general population.

It’s important to note that this figure does not capture all youth, nor does it exclusively represent transgender individuals. The surveys include a wide range of identities and experiences, including those who may be exploring or questioning their gender and sexual identity. Furthermore, self-reported data can be influenced by how questions are phrased, who chooses to respond, and the context in which the survey is conducted.

Due to these factors, the “40%” statistic should be understood as a reflection of a particular group of self-identified LGBTQ+ youth within specific survey samples, not as a definitive measure of mental health risk across all youth. When interpreting such data, it is essential to consider the methodology, sample representativeness, and potential biases inherent in survey research.

Transgender Athletes Targeted

A legal conflict is emerging between California and the federal government over transgender participation in school athletics. California state law permits transgender athletes to compete according to their gender identity, a policy that has been in place for over a decade and remains one of the most permissive in the country. However, the Trump administration argues this contradicts federal interpretations of Title IX, which they say are designed to ensure fairness in women’s sports.

Federal officials have notified more than 1,600 California public schools that they may be in violation of civil rights protections if biological males compete in female categories. While no enforcement action has yet been taken, the dispute underscores California’s outlier status on this issue—its policy stands in sharp contrast to the position held by the majority of states and a broad swath of the American public, who reject male participation in women’s sports as unfair and unscientific.

Pride Rebranded — and Erased

The White House has not issued a proclamation recognizing Pride Month this year. Instead, the administration designated June as “Title IX Month,” referencing the federal civil rights law that prohibits sex-based discrimination in education. Officials have cited Title IX in support of policies that limit participation in women’s sports to biological females, a position that has drawn criticism from LGBTQ+ advocacy groups.

In Florida, Governor Ron DeSantis issued his annual proclamation to commemorate the victims of the 2016 Pulse nightclub shooting but omitted any reference to the LGBTQ community. While activists continue to portray the attack as a targeted hate crime, federal investigations concluded otherwise. The FBI found no evidence that the attacker, Omar Sadiq Mateen, chose the nightclub because it catered to the gay community. Instead, Mateen pledged allegiance to ISIS during the attack and had considered multiple potential targets that night. The shooting was ultimately classified as an act of terrorism, not a hate crime—a distinction which continues to be overlooked in public discourse.

At the federal level, the Department of Defense announced plans to rename a Navy supply ship previously named after Harvey Milk, one of the first openly gay elected officials in U.S. history and a former Navy veteran. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth stated the department’s intention to move away from naming ships after activists and to revise the naming standards for the entire John Lewis-class of support vessels.

The Movement Fractures

Some conservative gay voices have publicly aligned themselves with the administration’s agenda, even ridiculing Pride events as “embarrassing” and “too sexual.” This internal division is being exploited to delegitimize the broader movement, turning queer rights into a partisan wedge issue rather than a human one.

The GOP’s moral acceptance of gay and lesbian relationships has plummeted to just 38%, according to Gallup. The era of assumed social progress is over.

The LGBTQ+ movement is no longer a unified front.

Deep divisions have emerged, exposing fractures that threaten not just its political influence but its very long-term existence. It is important to remember that the original civil rights movement focused primarily on LGB issues—lesbian, gay, and bisexual individuals fighting for basic rights and social acceptance. This movement was rooted in demands for equal treatment and dignity.

The transgender movement, by contrast, did not originally exist as a social or political movement. Historically, many transgender individuals were part of the broader gay community, often cross-dressing for performances or social events, but returning to their day-to-day lives without organized activism. Over time, however, radical transgender activists have taken over the broader LGBTQ+ movement, steering it toward a highly partisan and socially disruptive agenda. This shift has been deliberate, aiming to challenge and overturn longstanding social norms disguised as equal rights.

A growing number of conservative LGBTQ+ individuals openly reject the direction that modern Pride events and activist agendas have taken. They condemn what they see as extreme sexualization, radical gender ideology, and efforts to involve children in topics they believe are inappropriate. These voices—once marginalized—are increasingly amplified and leveraged by conservative politicians and media to undermine and delegitimize the movement as a whole.

Veteran activists who fought for fundamental civil rights decades ago express outright disgust and anger at what they view as a betrayal of their original struggle. They criticize the movement’s current fixation on transgender activism and drag culture, which they argue has eclipsed the original fight for equality, dignity, and basic respect. Many believe this shift alienates large segments of the public and fractures the community internally.

Several key causes underpin these fractures:

• Generational divide: Older LGBTQ+ members prioritize civil rights and social acceptance, while younger factions emphasize identity politics and sexual expression.

  
  

• Political polarization: The movement increasingly aligns with progressive politics, which alienates conservative and moderate LGBTQ+ individuals.

  
  

• Cultural radicalization: Embracing controversial and divisive issues has narrowed the movement’s appeal and increased backlash from opponents.

  
  

• Strategic disagreements: Conflicting views over priorities and tactics create ongoing infighting and public disagreements.

The consequences are serious. This movement, driven by a radical agenda, does not aim for meaningful societal progress but rather seeks to deconstruct established social structures and impose its own vision and standards—often at odds with the values of the overwhelming majority. When a fringe minority attempts to dictate how society should live, it risks deepening divisions and alienating those who value tradition and social cohesion. Rather than uniting people, this approach threatens to further fracture the social fabric and undermine the movement’s very legitimacy and survival.

Pride Is Dying — And It Won’t Stop

Let’s be clear: this is not a momentary backlash. This is the beginning of a structural takedown of LGBTQ+ rights, visibility, and legitimacy. The playbook is unfolding fast — faster than many expected — and it’s not going to slow down over the next three years. The culture war is being formalized into federal policy.

Yes, LGBTQ+ legal groups are raising funds.

Yes, some states like California are resisting.

But this is far from enough to counter the relentless pace and breadth of federal actions aimed at dismantling LGBTQ+ protections. Courts are issuing rulings based on constitutional interpretation and laws that have evolved over a quarter of a millennium—250 years of time-tested principles and social norms. Key institutions are responding to these decisions, while corporate support—once a pillar of the movement—is rapidly disappearing. Public spaces that once celebrated LGBTQ+ identity are growing silent, signaling a serious retreat from earlier acceptance.

What we’re witnessing isn’t just the loss of Pride Month — it’s the slow-motion demolition of an entire movement’s infrastructure.

Final Word: This Is the Normal Consequence

This is not just another election cycle or culture war skirmish. What we are witnessing is the natural and expected response to a radical agenda—an effort to restore social decency and balance—not a rollback of civil rights or dismantling of freedoms. The place of gay and lesbian communities in society is firmly established, with their civil rights fully recognized and protected. Similarly, the right to exist for transgender individuals is guaranteed under the law.

However, the so-called “trans rights” pushed under the guise of civil rights seek to normalize harmful behaviors and undermine longstanding social norms. With the last election, America made a clear choice to uphold and preserve its foundational social values. Shaping society to fit the demands of a fringe group’s lifestyle choices—particularly when it involves public sexualization—is no longer acceptable to the majority.

Pride is not dead yet, but it’s on life support. Unless the movement centered on transgender activism changes course—focusing on the right to exist and basic non-discrimination—it risks fading into irrelevance and disappearing altogether.