Utah Pride Parade tries to present welcoming message
That enthusiasm carried for blocks Sunday as tens of thousands of spectators waved Pride flags and all sorts of rainbow-colored items toward the more than 100 organizations and businesses that made their way through the downtown Salt Lake City route.
Some came with signs reading messages like 'Love First,' 'Everyone is welcome' and 'My existence is not political.' Many who came said they wanted to show their support during another complex time for the LGBTQ community.
'I think a lot of political things have happened recently, and I think more than ever it's important to support Pride,' said Autumn Krogh, who traveled from South Jordan to attend the downtown event with her 3-year-old pet pig, Cuzzie, which was wearing a rainbow-colored hat and bandana.
Sunday's parade followed a series of other events this weekend, including a march to the state Capitol and an interfaith worship service. That's on top of a two-day festival that brought together members of the LGBTQ community and allies alike.
While these types of events have taken place for decades, this year's events may have appeared to be more poignant. Some say new state and federal policies and decisions, such as this year's HB77, have left many in the community feeling targeted.
HB77 became law last month, prohibiting governments and schools from flying Pride flags and other flags deemed political. Rep. Trevor Lee, R-Layton, the bill's sponsor, said the move was meant to maintain political neutrality in public spaces.
'What we're trying to do here is make sure that we have neutrality as it pertains to politics,' he explained as the bill was going through the legislative process earlier this year.
Lee made headlines again last week after he said he would seek 'significant legislation' against 'woke groups' after the Utah Mammoth and Utah Jazz posted messages recognizing Pride month on the social platform X.
Those comments didn't stop the Jazz and Mammoth from having a spot in Sunday's parade.
Members of the Salt Lake City Council, a majority of whom identify as queer, were also among the groups that paraded down the street along with other city employees. Many waved the city's new 'Sego Belonging' flags, a Progress Pride flag with the city's sego lily logo on top that the city adopted as a new city flag last month, along with the other designs, to bypass the new state law.
This year's parade is 'more important now than ever' because of the current political climate, said Elliott Ramirez, a member of Utah Pride Guard, which participated in the event. Natalie Wolff, who attended the parade, agrees.
'We need to be here and show, support and love, and not be scared to use our voices to make sure there are not going to be laws that are going to take away rights that they've all fought so hard for — that we've all fought so hard for,' she said.
Seeing the large outpouring of support Sunday was 'magical' and helped reinforce why Salt Lake City has taken steps to support the LGBTQ community, added Salt Lake City Council Vice Chairman Alejandro Puy, who rode down the route with a Sego Belonging flag attached to the back of his new motorcycle.
Puy added that he wished more state politicians would come to events like Sunday's parade to see what the events are like.
'There's a lot of discourse about what this means. Is it political? Is this to separate? Is this to discriminate? No. Nobody is discriminating here. Everyone is welcome,' he said. 'This is about everybody. This is about celebrating our differences.'
Contributing: Andrew Adams
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
CNN
8 hours ago
- CNN
Websites serving Harvard undergrad women, minority and LGBTQ students taken down, Crimson reports
Websites for Harvard College centers serving minority and LGBTQ students and women vanished Wednesday, The Harvard Crimson reported, marking the continued unraveling of diversity initiatives at the nation's most prestigious university as it faces fresh pressure from the Trump administration. Websites for the Harvard College Women's Center, the Office for BGLTQ Student Life and the Foundation for Intercultural and Race Relations now redirect to a page for an Office of Culture and Community, the student newspaper reported. That office – which promotes '(e)xposure to and learning from different backgrounds, perspectives, and experiences,' its site states – was announced internally just Wednesday as a replacement for the soon-to-close diversity office for the Faculty of Arts and Sciences, which encompasses Harvard College, the undergraduate school and university's PhD programs. The White House welcomed the development, viewing it as a goodwill gesture one official described Thursday as 'good news.' In a letter to Harvard President Alan Garber on Thursday, alumni group Crimson Courage expressed disappointment with 'the dismantling of diversity efforts at Harvard College and the FAS,' calling it a threat to academic freedom and the university's core values. The group called on Garber to reinstate diversity initiatives to 'ensure that all students are safe and welcome.' 'This is no time to step back from your refusal to allow the federal government to dictate how Harvard educates,' Crimson Courage said. 'It's time for courage not capitulation.' Also Wednesday, the Departments of Education and Health and Human Services notified the New England Commission of Higher Education that Harvard is 'in violation of federal antidiscrimination laws and therefore may fail to meet the standards for accreditation set by the Commission,' according to a joint statement. That statement followed a June 30 finding by the Trump administration's Joint Task Force to Combat Anti-Semitism that Harvard was in 'violent violation' of the Civil Rights Act, which prohibits discrimination based on race, color or national origin in programs or activities receiving federal funding. The new Office of Culture and Community is part of an effort to 'break down silos, ensuring all members of our community are connected, supported, and empowered,' Faculty of Arts and Sciences Dean Hopi Hoekstra told colleagues Wednesday in a memo to which a university spokesperson directed CNN for information about the disappearance of the Harvard College website. As for its accreditation, Harvard 'continues to comply with the New England Commission of Higher Education's Standards for Accreditation, maintaining its accreditation uninterrupted since its initial review in 1929,' the spokesperson said Thursday in a statement. 'Antisemitism is a serious problem and no matter the context, it is unacceptable,' the statement said, adding the university 'has made significant strides to combat bigotry, hate and bias.' The moves Wednesday come amid a monthslong fight between Harvard and the Trump administration, which has sought to coerce the school to make changes that adhere to its more conservative ideology and less than a month ago suggested a deal was in sight. Other US universities have faced similar pressure from the White House and met at least some of its demands. At Harvard, the White House since April has frozen billions of federal dollars and threatened to yank more if Harvard does not comply, accusing the university in part of failing to adequately combat antisemitism and curb diversity practices – designed to advance racial, gender, class and other representation in public spaces – it decries as 'illegal and immoral discrimination.' Harvard in April announced it would rename its central diversity office from the Office for Equity, Diversity, Inclusion and Belonging to the Office of Community and Campus Life. It also has acknowledged antisemitism is an issue, and two school task forces in late April released a pair of internal reports – one on its handling of antisemitism and anti-Israeli bias, and the other of anti-Muslim, anti-Arab and anti-Palestinian bias. Its antisemitism task force, among other proposed changes, recommended updating the admissions process to focus on the need to work alongside people of differing viewpoints and be prepared to accept disagreements. Harvard should also 'become a hub for antisemitism research' and dedicate a faculty member to its study, the task force said. 'We remain committed to ensuring members of our Jewish and Israeli community are embraced, respected, and can thrive at Harvard,' its spokesperson added Thursday. Meantime, Harvard continues to battle the Trump administration in federal court on two fronts: In one, it seeks to claw back the frozen federal funds, with a hearing set for July 21; in the other, a judge has indefinitely blocked the White House's effort to revoke Harvard's ability to enroll international students, who make up about a quarter of its enrollment.
Chicago Tribune
12 hours ago
- Chicago Tribune
Oak Park officials mull adding protections for gender affirming care
The Oak Park Village Board is poised next month to add an article to its Human Rights Ordinance that would protect gender affirming care. The proposal comes in the wake of a Supreme Court decision upholding the constitutionality of a Tennessee law that outlaws gender affirming care for minors in that state. After reviewing a draft ordinance during its first reading at the July 1 Oak Park Village Board meeting and hearing public comment from three Oak Park residents, the board will likely vote Aug. 5 on adding protections for gender affirming care, which is care that supports gender transitions or sex changes, to the village's Human Rights Ordinance, though officials said they are gathering further input. Language in the draft ordinance indicates more than 20 states, but not Illinois, have 'banned or severely limited health care to align a young person's body with their gender identity.' No board members expressed any opposition to the draft ordinance at the July meeting. 'I think it's a good ordinance and I support it,' said board member Jim Taglia. Resident Aaron McManus, said that the ordinance was good but wanted it to go further. He asked the board for further protections, including making Oak Park a sanctuary city for trans people and adding privacy protections. 'So great start — thanks again — but you've still got some work to do,' McManus said. 'And again I'd like to advocate for a public declaration of the sanctuary status.' Board members were open to adding sanctuary status in the future. 'This is a great first step,' said board member Brian Straw. 'I do want to see us go further on the path to being a sanctuary village for trans and queer individuals.' Village Board member Cory Wesley wanted to know if there are any communities in the United States that have declared themselves to be trans sanctuaries. Village President Vicki Scaman said that she wanted to reach out to groups such as Parents and Friends of Lesbians and Gays, or PFLAG, for input and also reach out other units of local government such as Oak Park Township and area school districts before voting on the ordinance. Village manager Kevin Jackson said he would also solicit views from the village's Community Relations Commission before bringing back the proposed ordinance for a vote. One person who made a public comment, who asked Pioneer Press not to name her because of safety concerns, said she supported the ordinance but worried that the ordinance could increase the visibility of the issue and thus put trans individuals at risk. 'I worry that we are inviting unwanted attention,' she said during her public comment. That was a concern that board members took seriously. 'The last thing we want to do in crafting protections is to put people at risk,' Wesley said. Assistant village manager Kira Tchang said the push for the ordinance came about because the LGBTQ community is under attack. The draft ordinance would prohibit any village agent or agency from providing information about or investigating or aiding in any investigation of a person or entity providing or receiving gender affirming care obtained in conformance with the laws of the state of Illinois. The immediate impact of the ordinance would be mostly symbolic because Illinois already has a law, passed in 2023, that protects medical providers who perform gender affirming care and protects access to gender affirming care. The draft ordinance also requires the village of Oak Park to object to any subpoena or request for records for information from any out of state person or entity for the purposes of investigating a law criminalizing gender affirming care or creating civil liability for gender affirming care. This also largely mirrors existing state law.
USA Today
16 hours ago
- USA Today
Who is Ken Paxton? Texas Attorney General's wife files for divorce
Angela Paxton said she filed for divorce "on biblical grounds" after "recent discoveries." Ken Paxton, the Texas attorney general and GOP U.S. Senate candidate who has been embroiled in a series of controversies in recent years, confirmed that he and his wife, Texas state Sen. Angela Paxton, are divorcing. Angela Paxton, a Republican who represents the state's 8th senate district, announced the news on X July 10. "Today, after 38 years of marriage, I filed for divorce on biblical grounds," she wrote. "I believe marriage is a sacred covenant and I have earnestly pursued reconciliation. But in light of recent discoveries, I do not believe that it honors God or is loving to myself, my children, or Ken to remain in the marriage." Ken Paxton released his own statement on X shortly thereafter, in which he attributed "the pressures of countless political attacks and public scrutiny" for the filing. Angela accused her husband of adultery, according to court filings obtained by The Texas Tribune. The divorce petition also says the couple has lived apart since June 2024, according to The Texas Tribune. USA TODAY has reached out to the court clerk's office for Collin County, Texas, where the divorce petition was filed, to obtain a copy. Here's what to know about Ken Paxton, a high-profile conservative and longtime ally of President Donald Trump. Ken Paxton divorce: Texas AG's wife files for divorce 'on biblical grounds' Who is Ken Paxton? Ken Paxton is the incumbent attorney general of Texas, a role he has held since 2015. Before that, Paxton was a Texas state representative from 2003 to 2013, and a state senator for two years. In April, Ken Paxton launched a bid to challenge U.S. Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, in the 2026 primary for Cornyn's Senate seat. Paxton graduated from Baylor University with a bachelor's degree in psychology and a master's degree in business administration. He also received a law degree from the University of Virginia School of Law and subsequently practiced as an attorney before his foray into politics, according to the Texas attorney general website. The Texas attorney general met his wife, Angela Paxton, while they were both students at Baylor, per his website. They had been married for 38 years before she filed for divorce and share four children and two grandchildren. Throughout his time as Texas' attorney general, Ken Paxton has been a staunch Trump ally, supporting many of the administration's policies, including immigrant deportations and strict border policies. Trump has called Paxton "a very talented guy" and a "great attorney general." Ken Paxton controversies: impeachment, alleged adultery Ken Paxton has faced his share of controversies over the years, notably including a 2023 impeachment trial. He was impeached by the Texas House of Representatives on bribery charges, but the state Senate later acquitted him. The trial in part stemmed from 2020 allegations from several of Paxton's former aides, who alleged abuse of office, bribery and other crimes. Some of the aides later filed a wrongful termination lawsuit, prompting a Texas House investigation into a request Paxton made for the state Legislature to fund a $3.3 million settlement to resolve the lawsuit. The impeachment trial also saw dramatic testimony about his alleged extramarital affair. It's unclear whether the adultery reportedly cited in Angela Paxton's divorce petition is related. In a separate case, the Securities and Exchange Commission charged Ken Paxton with securities fraud in 2016. State prosecutors pursued the case for years until the charges were dropped in 2024 as part of a pretrial agreement. Some of Ken Paxton's other legal entanglements include a since-tossed lawsuit from the State Bar of Texas over his efforts to challenge the results of the 2020 election, and a federal probe into criminal corruption. Contributing: Kayla Jimenez, Aysha Bagchi, Davis Winkie, USA TODAY Melina Khan is a national trending reporter for USA TODAY. She can be reached at
