My husband and I traveled to Washington D.C. to attend World Pride 2025, which coincided with DC’s 50th anniversary of Capitol Pride the first weekend of June. It was in a word – amazing!

We loved being with so many queer people unanimous in being visible and challenging the unbridled homophobia and transphobia heaped on the queer community by the current president, his administration, and many of his followers. We were awed by the sheer number of people from around the world, partied, laughed, and felt rejuvenated by sharing this experience with so many of our queer brothers and sisters.

We were prepared to expect little support from the Trump administration for the anticipated three million visitors for World Pride, yet still surprised for just how petty were the slights directed at our community.

There was a total absence of any events involving anything federal. There were no governmental affinity groups in the parade, no events held on the National Mall or any of the city’s federal grounds, and a month of events had to be moved from the nation’s premiere performing arts halls – the Kennedy Center.

However, most troubling was the closing and mesh-fence barricading of Dupont Circle – ground zero for DC’s queer neighborhood which occurred just before the festival’s largest event, the Saturday, June 7 parade. The excuse conjured by the National Parks Service about protecting the fountain was typical nonsense from administrators who regale in being cruel. Make no mistake, this was done purely for spite.

If any of my queer brothers, sisters, and allies ever had a doubt that queer rights and progress were under attack, this picayune action on the day before the largest queer gathering anywhere in the world during 2025 was designed to send a message to LGBTQ+ people around the world. The message received from closing this sacred queer space was that queer people are not welcomed in the United States. Your community will be removed from social venues. Your rituals and celebrations will be denigrated. Your artistic achievements will be dismissed. Your history will be erased, and more.

During June Pride month and going forward while enduring this administration, this is a time for visibility. The way these slights and inordinate number of hateful laws being perpetrated against the LGBTQ+ community around the country and yes, even in queer-friendly Connecticut, can be countered through each queer person’s secret power – which is to come out.

Be open, yet safe, in the reveal. Attend high-visibility Pride parades and festivals. Write letters to elected officials and business leaders praising their support or condemning their cowardice. Donate to organizations on the front lines fighting against authoritarianism. Educate friends and family that queer people have always been part of the human experience.

The queer community, with its disparate constituencies, becomes more powerful by banding together and employing the power of our collective resources and talents to counteract discrimination. While it is tiresome having to continually deal with bullies, especially one with such power, the challenge facing the queer community is now a moment as significant as Stonewall – the very reason for June Pride. 

On this journey for full equality, Stonewall’s legacy still resonates that a good way to stop a bully is to fight back.

John D. Allen, EdD, facilitates the June 22 walking tour, New Haven’s Closet: 400 years of queer history in the Elm City.