Page 2 - ARUBA TODAY

A2 UP FRONT
Monday 12 June 2017
Across US, thousands rally and march for LGBT rights

chants directed at Trump.
Continued from front For the LGBT community
Leaders of those groups nationwide, it’s an emo-
have been embittered by tional time. Monday is the
several actions of President anniversary of the mass
Donald Trump’s admin- shooting a year ago in Or-
istration — including the lando, Florida, that killed 49
rollback of federal guid- people — mostly Latinos —
ance advising school dis- at Pulse, a gay nightclub.
tricts to let transgender stu- Among the marchers in
dents use the bathrooms Washington was Gil Men-
and locker rooms of their dez, a Puerto Rican na-
choice. tive who traveled with his
The activists also complain partner all the way from
that Trump, although he San Francisco to join the
campaigned as a poten- parade. He carried a sign
tial ally of gays and lesbi- that included the names of
ans, has stocked his ad- all the Pulse victims.
ministration with many foes “The attack on Pulse really
of LGBT-rights advances, struck me hard,” he said.
including Vice President Marchers unfurl a huge rainbow flag as they prepare to march in the Equality March for Unity and “It made the connection
Mike Pence, Attorney Pride in Washington, Sunday, June 11, 2017. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster) between the physical vio-
General Jeff Sessions, and lence of guns and the po-
Health and Human Servic- thousands strong, paraded ing behind a giant rainbow “We’re here, we’re queer, litical attacks on our com-
es Secretary Tom Price. past the White House and flag near the head of the get that Cheeto out of munity.”
Throngs of marchers, many toward the Capitol, trail- procession. here,” was among the Also marching, and singing
freedom songs and patri-
otic songs along the way,
were scores of members of
gay choruses from various
cities.
“It’s an opportunity to tell
everyone we’re still here,
and we’re not going away
at all,” said Gregory Elfers
of Teaneck, New Jersey,
who was with a contingent
from the New York City
Gay Men’s Chorus.
“We have to be heard —
we have to be sure we’re
not trampled on,” said L.
Owen Taggart of Washing-
ton’s Gay Men’s Chorus.
Roughly 100 marches and
rallies were planned across
the U.S., including the first-
ever gay pride parade in
Grosse Pointe, a prosper-
ous Detroit suburb. The
one-mile (more than 1.5-ki-
lometer) march began at
Grosse Pointe South High
School to emphasize sup-
port for teens who are gay
or transgender.
Two 15-year-old marchers,
Jessica Dodge and Sheki-
nah Aho, held hands and
wore shirts that said, “Make
America Gay Again.”
In Los Angeles, where the
annual pride parade was
renamed the ResistMarch,
tens of thousands of peo-
ple turned out to march in
Hollywood, some carrying
rainbow flags or signs read-
ing “Love trumps hate.”
Speakers at the event in-
cluded Mayor Eric Garcetti
and RuPaul, the host of
“RuPaul’s Drag Race.”q