As America celebrates its 250th anniversary, the LGBTQ+ community in New York is grappling with a more repressive era, marked by attacks on trans rights and a sense that democracy is not living up to its ideals. Christen Clifford, a queer mother of two, said, 'My understanding of what democracy is is not what the American experiment actually did or is currently doing, because of the history of slavery, because of white supremacy, because of the way the federal government is treating immigrants.'
Rollbacks on gender-affirming care in New York
New York, often seen as a haven for queer and trans people, is facing rollbacks due to federal actions. Between the 2024 election and October 2025, about 400,000 trans Americans moved states from places like Texas and Florida to protect their rights. However, since Donald Trump retook office, multiple New York City hospitals have pre-emptively stopped providing gender-affirming care over the threat of losing federal funding.
'We're longtime New Yorkers. We thought we were safe here,' said Clifford. Both of her children received care through NYU Langone hospital, but her 17-year-old had care denied after the Trump administration threatened hospitals with funding cuts. The administration is also using federal courts in Texas to subpoena east coast hospitals for medical records of trans youth clients.
Protests against NYC Pride march
Clifford spent the last week of Pride month protesting the NYC Pride march because hospitals that stopped providing care were set to walk in the parade. Fifteen former grand marshals, including Michelle Visage, signed an open letter calling on organizers to bar these hospitals. 'You can't march in a Pride parade while you are damaging the lives of members of our community,' said Jay Walker of Gays Against Guns.
Wider tensions at Pride events
At various NYC Pride events, protesters referenced the Prairieland case, where eight anti-ICE protesters received a combined 450 years in a Texas federal court. Rightwing counter-protesters and online influencers were noticeable, including at the Dyke March on June 27, where a rightwing streamer attempted to provoke marchers. NYPD officers arrested Pride-goers twerking in Washington Square Park.
Similar tensions occurred nationwide, including in Philadelphia where police arrested 15 crowd members, and in San Francisco where at least 25 people were arrested at Trans March and a Pride block party. Activists drew parallels to the 1966 Compton's Cafeteria riot in San Francisco, where trans women protested harassment.
