Hegseth announces new name for US Navy ship that was named after gay rights activist
US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth announced the USNS Harvey Milk is being renamed to the USNS Oscar V. Peterson. During Pride Month in June, he ordered the stripping of the name Harvey Milk who was a gay rights activist and Navy veteran.
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San Francisco Chronicle
an hour ago
- San Francisco Chronicle
Is S.F. Pride having an identity crisis in the age of Trump?
For many in the LGBTQ community, it's a complicated year to celebrate Pride. More than five decades after the first San Francisco parades, the direction of the annual celebration feels suddenly uncertain and queer identity itself is more political than ever during President Donald Trump's second term. With corporate sponsorships declining, rainbow Pride flags being banned in some cities and anti-transgender legislation and Supreme Court rulings steadily accumulating, there are calls to reevaluate the role Pride festivities should play amid what seems to be the deliberate destruction of established civil rights. 'This is not a normal time,' said LGBTQ activist Cleve Jones, 'and for people to just continue to act as we have, year after year, without acknowledging the gravity of the situation is mind-boggling.' Recent decades have seen Pride Month become a season of commemorating queer history and advancing equality. In San Francisco, the parade and Civic Center celebrations are among the oldest Pride events in the world. But in the face of rising hostility from the Trump administration and other conservative voices, as well as a retreat by corporate backers, San Francisco's LGBTQ community is reexamining the event. Jones, the onetime protégé of San Francisco's pioneering gay politician Harvey Milk, first attended the Gay Freedom Day Parade (as S.F. Pride was formerly known) in 1973. Competing visions of what became the annual celebration, he said, have existed for years. 'On one hand, you've got the crowd that says, 'Stonewall was a riot. We don't want cops, we don't want corporate sponsorships, let's make it more of a march and keep it political,'' he said, referring to the seminal 1969 confrontation between gay rights activists and police at the Stonewall Inn in New York's Greenwich Village. 'And then on the other side, you've got people that really would like to see Beyoncé perform, and want the stage and the sound system to go with it.' As the 2025 edition approached, the discussion took on more urgency as six sponsors — including Google, Anheuser-Busch, Comcast and Nissan — dropped their support, while others gave money quietly and asked not to be named, said San Francisco Pride Executive Director Suzanne Ford. In one notable case, S.F. Pride officials chose to sever ties with Meta as a sponsor due to the social media company's rollback of diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives and its loosening of content moderation. In the midst of the Trump administration's war on DEI, the corporate withdrawals from S.F. Pride aren't surprising, and its funding situation is not unique. Pride events in cities including Sacramento, Chicago, Kansas City and St. Louis are reporting budget shortfalls due to dropped sponsorships and grants, while New York's Heritage of Pride is fundraising to narrow a $750,000 budget gap. 'We're much better off than New York Pride,' Ford said of the East Coast organization that reportedly lost 25% of its corporate funding. But she acknowledges that even with S.F. Pride bringing in additional donors this year — 10% of sponsors are new, including the San Francisco Foundation and San Francisco International Airport — the decline in corporate sponsorships has impacted its budget. The organization is short $180,000 from its $2.3 million fundraising target. 'If we, somehow, in these next 10 days, can find another $175,000, and people show up on Pride Sunday, and our beverage program does well and our donations increase at the gate, we might get through this difficult period,' Ford said. D'Arcy Drollinger, the city's first drag laureate, noted that since the 1990s, corporate sponsorship has been more prominent at Pride events across the world. That money provided for both bigger production values in the parade and on stages. In San Francisco, those sponsorships helped keep the event free. 'Even before the term 'woke' existed, it was seen as good street cred for a brand to be part of Pride,' said Drollinger, who in 2024 hosted and programmed a stage in Civic Center through his nonprofit Oasis Arts. But financial support from companies spanning tech, banking, medicine and other industries has long had a mixed response. Drollinger said the community can contradict itself at times on the issue. 'Last year we saw some people say, 'F— these corporations trying to pinkwash! '' Drollinger said, referring to a term for pandering to LGBTQ consumers while not supporting them in more significant ways. 'And then this year, 'Where are all the corporations? No one's supporting us.'' That tension between needing resources and questioning their sources is something Devlin Shand believes the community must confront more directly. The co-founder of LGBTQ gallery Queer Arts Featured sees Pride's current crossroads as an opportunity for deeper reflection. 'If you get in bed with big money, with the people that are destroying our planet, if you can dissociate from that understanding, then you get your big VIP Pride experience,' Shand said. 'This could be a wake-up call.' As the fight to preserve LGBTQ rights intensifies, some question whether the current Pride model is still right for this moment. Is celebrating appropriate while transgender protections are under attack, marriage equality is once again under debate and LGBTQ immigrants face renewed threats? S.F. Pride's theme this year, 'Queer Joy Is Resistance,' tries to bridge the protest vs. party conflict. But for Jones, the words ring hollow. 'That slogan would make a little more sense if the website would include even two words about what exactly are we resisting,' said Jones, who also believes that the community needs to reevaluate what constitutes political action. In his view, resistance in 2025 'requires us to do more than party on as usual.' 'I feel very heavily what's happening — how we're trying not to be erased, how our rights are being stripped away,' he said. Still, he added 'finding our joy is part of the fight.' Others think the theme strikes the right balance, reflecting both the spirit of celebration and the deeper work happening during Pride weekend to support organizations and causes important to the LGBTQ community. Juanita More, a longtime fundraiser in San Francisco's queer scene, will once again host her annual party on Pride Sunday at 620 Jones, this year benefiting the Transgender Law Center. Since 2004, the drag performer has raised more than $1 million for LGBTQ community groups, with much of that support coming from small businesses and private donors. She believes offering a space for release — especially amid political grief and fatigue — is as crucial as creating opportunities for action. 'I'm glad they used the word joy,' More said. 'We have to find joy to keep moving forward.' While More's Pride party has become a tradition, she's also helped launch an event that's now seen as a symbol of the community's return to grassroots activism. In 2020, More and activist Alex U. Inn created the People's March, which traces the original Gay Freedom Day route down Polk Street to City Hall. The event was a response to the racial reckoning the country faced after the murder of George Floyd, but also an opportunity for people to come together in a year when the Pride Parade was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. In past years, the People's March was scheduled on Pride Sunday, portraying itself as a non-corporate sponsored alternative. Tina Aguirre, director of the Castro LGBTQ Cultural District, is a supporter of the People's March and said that event, as well as the Trans March on Pride Friday and Dyke March on Pride Saturday, 'are all strong indicators that not only do we still need to come together and celebrate, we also need to march because our rights keep getting taken away.' This year, the People's March was on June 19 and had an estimated 1,200 participants. Now, for the first time, it will also have its own contingent in the Pride Parade. 'I totally support S.F. Pride,' More said. 'We have the same goals, but we've gone about it in different ways. Now it's a mutual feeling about what's happening across the country, that we all need to work together.' For her part, Honey Mahogany, a local Democratic activist and drag performer, will host a stage at the Civic Center party this year with Sister Roma of the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence. Mahogany called San Francisco a historic incubator for the queer movement and as such, 'we're used to having all of these factions that don't really coordinate or talk to each other. But it's my hope that we will start doing more coordinating and coalition building, and less exclusion and finger pointing.' That spirit of collaboration extends beyond Pride Weekend. Rebecca Rolfe, outgoing executive director of the SF LGBT Center, said she plans to march with her nonprofit's contingent in the parade. While she has noticed an increased demand for services at the center dealing with issues such as immigration status and proper gender on government IDs as well as 'a generalized increase in anxiety,' she's also seen an upswing in people interested in volunteering. But she believes queer organizations have their work cut out for them as San Francisco continues to try and live up to its reputation as a sanctuary city for transgender and nonnbinary people. As for the future of S.F. Pride, Ford just signed a two-year contract to remain in her role leading Pride, and she said she hopes to hire a development director to help find new sources of funding. She's confident, with help from Mayor Daniel Lurie, Pride Week can again become a destination for the city. 'It's even more important than ever that San Francisco accept that we are the capital of the queer world,' said Ford, citing the importance of investing in the festivities' infrastructure. 'We shouldn't be running away from it, we should be running into it.'
Newsweek
4 hours ago
- Newsweek
Stonewall Uprising: A Look at Transgender Activists Who Led the Movement
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. The Stonewall Uprising, a pivotal moment in the LGBTQ+ rights fight, occurred 56 years ago and sparked a movement led in part by two transgender activists: Marsha P. Johnson and Sylvia Rivera. The Context The Stonewall uprising began after police raided the Stonewall Inn, a gay bar in New York City, sparking protests and pushback from the local LGBTQ+ community. Johnson and Rivera emerged as two community leaders from the movement, though there is debate about their exact involvement during the protests. Earlier this year, the Trump administration sparked backlash after removing references to transgender people from the Stonewall National Monument website. Meanwhile, the Pride Month display at the Stonewall National Monument excluded transgender pride flags this year, according to ABC News. LGBTQ+ activists have raised concerns about attempts to erase the history of transgender activists this year. What To Know The exact history of Stonewall is complicated, and accounts from participants have varied over the years. Who exactly threw the first brick at Stonewall, for instance, has been debated, and there remains no clear consensus on the question. Still, Johnson and Rivera emerged from Stonewall as two of the most prominent leaders in New York's LGBTQ+ community who would shape the movement for decades to come. The uprising began early on June 28, 1969, when patrons at the bar fought back against police harassment during a raid. The riots continued for about six days and drew national attention to the LGBTQ+ rights cause. Photo-illustration by Newsweek/Getty Johnson had said she was not at Stonewall when the uprising began and showed up a bit later. But she was among the most prominent participants in the days-long riots, resisting police after they raided the bar. In one well-reported account of the riots, Johnson climbed up a lamppost to drop a heavy object onto a police car. Rivera, who was 17 years old at the time of the riots, had also said that she was in attendance, although some historians have questioned whether she was present at Stonewall on the first night of the riot. Historian David Carter wrote in 2019 for The Gay City News that activist Bob Kohler, who was present at the riots, told him Rivera was not at Stonewall. But the debate about who was at Stonewall when is "pointless and silly," Michael Bronski, author of A Queer History of the United States, told Newsweek. He said it's important to look at the activists' work after Stonewall, such as the founding of Street Transvestite Activists Revolutionaries (STAR) and the first halfway house for young gender non-conforming individuals. STAR was an organization founded in 1970 by Johnson and Rivera to support transgender people. It was an early activist group for trans rights that went on to inspire others in the movement. At the time, notably, the term "transgender" was not in use, so the term "drag queen" was used to describe Johnson and Rivera, though they are considered to be transgender. They had also used the term "transvestite," which is now considered outdated or offensive by many, despite its historical use. Héctor Carrillo, a professor of sociology and sexuality & gender studies, told Newsweek it is "not automatic" that all drag queens at Stonewall would think of themselves as transgender, as the trans movement "didn't crystallize until the 1990s." While activists like Johnson and Rivera are now recognized as pioneers of the LGBTQ+ rights movement, at the time, the transgender community was not "idolized" by many gay and lesbian people, Bronski said. "Back then, often the queer community, the more mainstream queer community, was not particularly open to trans people, and for some reasons—if trans people went into a bar, police might be likely to raid the bar. Trans people were more hassled on the streets by police," he said. Vincent Stephens, an associate dean of diversity and inclusion at Boston University's College of Arts & Sciences, told Newsweek activists like Johnson and Rivera were "integral to really being at the forefront of liberation." After Stonewall, groups like the Gay Liberation Front (GLF) were founded to advance the acceptance of the LGBTQ+ community, he said. But those groups had many "internal fissures" that caused women and people of color to break off. This led to the creation of STAR. "In many ways, they were integral to articulate the needs and concerns of gender nonconforming people," Stephens said. "They also exposed in many ways a tension within the queer community, which is that some people who were very focused on concerns of gay men and the concerns of lesbians but weren't necessary addressing concerns of gender-nonconforming people. STAR is an early example of gender non-conforming people organizing and saying, 'We are integral to this.'" The two continued working on causes including AIDS and homelessness throughout their lives, as well as remaining active in the battle for LGBTQ+ rights. Stonewall Anniversary Comes as Many View New Attacks on LGBTQ+ Community This year's anniversary of the riots comes as many in the LGBTQ+ community see setbacks in a legal sense, as well as a shift in public opinion against gay and trans rights. The Trump administration's removal of mentions of the transgender community from the Stonewall National Monument website is among those concerns. Bronski said the erasure of the transgender community cannot be viewed "in isolation." Those who oppose gay rights have realized they cannot push for the eradication of the gay community from public life, but could still "focus on the most vulnerable of those people, which is trans community," he said. "I think it's really telling that they didn't get rid of all of LGBT, but just the T. I think they knew that getting rid of LGB would cause complete outrage, but you can get away with getting rid of the T because there's enough ambivalence and lack of understanding about transgender people," he said. A key part of the legacy of Stonewall is remembering that 1969 wasn't all that long ago, Stephens said. "Many of the fights that LGBTQ+ people have been fighting are relatively recent fights, and the fight is not over," he said. "We have to think about the long-term vision for how we want to exist as human beings and as contributors to society. Stonewall reminds us that we have to sometimes get up, take risks and advocate for ourselves." Every movement "needs a moment," and Stonewall is that for the LGBTQ+ rights movement, Bronski said. While LGBTQ+ Pride Month has become "very commercialized," it's still important to remember the deeper meaning behind the role of power in society and how that can harm people. "There is a great lesson to be learned that what happens to the most vulnerable people can happen to anyone," he said. What People Are Saying Héctor Carrillo, a professor of sociology and sexuality & gender studies, told Newsweek: "The Stonewall Uprising acquired enormous cultural symbolism. It came to be seen as marking the beginning of the LGBTQ movement, even when there had been other instances of gay and lesbian protest before. Those include the Mattachine Society's picketing and the Compton Cafeteria riot in San Francisco in 1966. GLAAD criticized the Trump administration's move to remove references to the trans community from the Stonewall National Monument website in February: "The Stonewall Uprising – a monumental moment in the fight for LGBTQ rights – would not have happened without the leadership of transgender and gender non-conforming people. The tireless work of Marsha P. Johnson, Sylvia Rivera, and countless other trans women of color paved the way and continue to inspire us. You can try to erase our history, but we will never forget those who came before us and we will continue to fight for all those who will come after us."
CNN
7 hours ago
- CNN
US did not use bunker-buster bombs on one of Iran's nuclear sites, top general tells lawmakers, citing depth of the target
Washington CNN — The US military did not use bunker-buster bombs on one of Iran's largest nuclear sites last weekend because the site is so deep that the bombs likely would not have been effective, the US' top general told senators during a briefing on Thursday. The comment by Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Gen. Dan Caine, which was described by three people who heard his remarks and a fourth who was briefed on them, is the first known explanation given for why the US military did not use the Massive Ordnance Penetrator bomb against the Isfahan site in central Iran. US officials believe Isfahan's underground structures house nearly 60% of Iran's enriched uranium stockpile, which Iran would need in order to ever produce a nuclear weapon. US B2 bombers dropped over a dozen bunker-buster bombs on Iran's Fordow and Natanz nuclear sites. But Isfahan was only struck by Tomahawk missiles launched from a US submarine. The classified briefing to lawmakers was conducted by Caine, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, Secretary of State Marco Rubio and CIA Director John Ratcliffe. A spokesperson for Caine declined to comment, noting that he cannot comment on the chairman's classified briefing to Congress. During the briefing, Ratcliffe told lawmakers that the US intelligence community assesses that the majority of Iran's enriched nuclear material is buried at Isfahan and Fordow, according to a US official. Democratic Sen. Chris Murphy told CNN on Thursday night after receiving the briefing that some of Iran's capabilities 'are so far underground that we can never reach them. So they have the ability to move a lot of what has been saved into areas where there's no American bombing capacity that can reach it.' An early assessment produced by the Defense Intelligence Agency in the day after the US strikes said the attack did not destroy the core components of the country's nuclear program, including its enriched uranium, and likely only set the program back by months, CNN has reported. It also said Iran may have moved some of the enriched uranium out of the sites before they were attacked. The Trump officials who briefed lawmakers this week sidestepped questions about the whereabouts of Iran's stockpile of already-enriched uranium. President Donald Trump again claimed Friday that nothing was moved from the three Iranian sites before the US military operation. But Republican lawmakers emerged from the classified briefings on Thursday acknowledging that the US military strikes may not have eliminated all of Iran's nuclear materials. But they argued that doing so was not part of the military's mission. 'There is enriched uranium in the facilities that moves around, but that was not the intent or the mission,' Republican Rep. Michael McCaul of Texas told CNN. 'My understanding is most of it's still there. So we need a full accounting. That's why Iran has to come to the table directly with us, so the (International Atomic Energy Agency) can account for every ounce of enriched uranium that's there. I don't think it's going out of the country, I think it's at the facilities.' 'The purpose of the mission was to eliminate certain particular aspects of their nuclear program. Those were eliminated. To get rid of the nuclear material was not part of the mission,' GOP Rep. Greg Murphy told CNN. 'Here's where we're at: the program was obliterated at those three sites. But they still have ambitions,' said Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina. 'I don't know where the 900 pounds of highly enriched uranium exists. But it wasn't part of the targets there.' '(The sites) were obliterated. Nobody can use them anytime soon,' Graham also said. Weapons expert and professor at the Middlebury Institute of International Studies Jeffrey Lewis told CNN that commercial satellite images show that Iran has accessed the tunnels at Isfahan. 'There were a moderate number of vehicles present at Isfahan on June 26 and at least one of the tunnel entrances was cleared of obstructions by mid-morning June 27,' Lewis said. 'If Iran's stockpile of (highly enriched uranium) was still in the tunnel when Iran sealed the entrances, it may be elsewhere now.' Additional satellite imagery captured on June 27 by Planet Labs show the entrance to the tunnels were open at the time, according to Lewis. The preliminary DIA assessment noted that the nuclear sites' above ground structures were moderately to severely damaged, CNN has reported. That damage could make it a lot harder for Iran to access any enriched uranium that does remain underground, sources said, something that Graham alluded to on Thursday. 'These strikes did a lot of damage to those three facilities,' Murphy, the Connecticut Democrat, told CNN on Thursday night. 'But Iran still has the know-how to put back together a nuclear program. And if they still have that enriched material, and if they still have centrifuges, and if they still have the capability to very quickly move those centrifuges into what we call a cascade, we have not set back that program by years. We have set it back by months.' Caine and Hegseth on Thursday said the military operation against Fordow went exactly as planned but did not mention the impacts to Isfahan and Natanz.
