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Politicians who are silent on LGBTQ+ rights have no place at Pride
The Independent
|July 05, 2026
You don’t get to show up for the glitter and the dancing only to fail to speak out
From the outside, Pride can often look like one big party.
Rainbow flags, face paint, fabulous outfits and a bit of a disco. And as someone who enjoys a dance, I don’t think there’s anything wrong with that. Moments of shared joy in clubs, on dancefloors and at parties are so important for our community, for coming together in the face of hatred, discrimination and attempts to divide us. But it’s important to remember that, fundamentally, Pride is a protest movement. It started in New York in 1969, in response to police harassment and brutality at the Stonewall Inn, after police repeatedly raided the small gay dive bar under the guise of enforcing discriminatory laws.
This story is from the July 05, 2026 edition of The Independent.
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