Well-meaning neighbors quickly grow into anything but in this hot-button comedy. When an upwardly mobile Latino couple moves next door to the prize-winning garden of a prominent family, feuding over fences and flora spiral into territorial turmoil, exposing deeply rooted notions of race, taste, class and privilege. Which side of the fence are you on?
With a severe version of mpox breaking out in the Democratic Republic of Congo, officials with the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention are warning that it could spread and that people at risk should be vaccinated as soon as possible.
High-risk populations include men who have sex with men, although anyone can contract the disease, which is largely spread by skin-to-skin contact — sexual relations, for instance, but also in crowds at outdoor festivals. Thousands of gay and bisexual men developed mpox in a 2022 outbreak. People with compromised immune systems, such as those living with HIV, are at high risk for serious cases and death.
“There are two main types of mpox: Clade I, the type that is dominant in Congo, and Clade II, a version of which caused the 2022 global outbreak,” The New York Times reports. Clade I is deadlier than Clade II, the Times notes, explaining that “a clade is a genetically and clinically distinct group of viruses.”
No Clade I cases have been documented outside of Congo yet, but a global spread is possible, as the 2022 outbreak that affected Europe and North America originated in Nigeria.
“This is a very important example of how an infection anywhere is potentially an infection everywhere, and why we need to continue to improve disease surveillance globally,” Anne Rimoin, an epidemiologist at the University of California, Los Angeles, told the Times.
Many of the cases in Congo were among sex workers, both male and female, and their clients, plus men who have sex with men, according to the CDC. The symptoms of mpox infection include fever, severe headache, back pain, a rash, and sometimes sores at the infection site.
There were about 30,000 cases of mpox in the U.S. in 2022 but only 1,700 last year, thanks to vaccines and changes in behavior, the CDC reports. However, only 23 percent of at-risk Americans have gotten both necessary doses of the Jynneos vaccine against mpox, so CDC scientists are urging all those at risk to be vaccinated. The vaccine is now available at pharmacies in the U.S., making it easier to access than previously.
A recent Government Accountability Office report found serious flaws in the federal government’s response to the 2022 outbreak. The Department of Health and Human Services’ internal communication was poor, hampering coordination of efforts to fight mpox, according to the report. Democratic U.S. Rep. Ritchie Torres of New York, a gay man, has introduced legislation to improve communication within federal agencies and messaging to at-risk populations.
“The federal government and HHS were catastrophically unprepared for the mpox outbreak,” Torres told The Advocatein April.
Those were just some of the flash points in last year’s Pride merch madness that tested consumer brands’ relationships with the LGBTQ+ community.
After all the boycotts and right-wing outrage, where do companies stand when it comes to this year’s Pride merch offerings and allyship?
Pretty much where they’ve always been, according to a new survey.
Data from corporate executives and Fortune 500 leaders gathered by Gravity Research and reported by PR Daily indicates that 78% of companies are not planning any change in their Pride strategy in 2024. Thirteen percent were unsure, while 9% said changes are in the works.
When it comes to consumer goods, though, 30% said they’re reevaluating their approach to Pride.
One of those is Target, which bore the brunt of last year’s far-right rainbow backlash.
While the retail giant says they’re “committed to supporting the LGBTQIA+ community during Pride Month and year-round,” they’re slashing Pride-themed merch from at least half of their nearly 2000 stores. They’ll continue to have a presence at Pride events around the U.S., the company told LGBTQ Nation.
A collection of Pride products, including adult apparel, home products, food, and beverages, will be available in select stores and on Target’s website, they said, and “we will have internal programs to celebrate Pride 2024.”
That retreat contrasts with other brands with a long history of LGBTQ+ community engagement.
Hyatt describes their longstanding commitment to Pride and the LGBTQ+ community as “the right thing to do.”
“We also recognize it as our responsibility to create inclusive environments for our colleagues, guests, and customers feel a sense of belonging,” Jonathan Pinkerton, senior social media manager for Hyatt and chair of employee resource group HyPride LGBTQ+ Network, added.
“I’m very optimistic about Pride this year,” said Gerry Rodriguez, senior vice president of brand purpose at Edelman. “What we’re seeing is kind of a trend towards more engagement, more visibility, more authentic engagement and visibility.”
Rodriguez points out it’s good business, too, based on the demographics.
7.6% of the U.S. population identifies as LGBTQ+, according to Gallup, and that number rises the younger consumers are. More than one in give members of Gen Z identify as LGBTQ+, along with nearly 10% of Millennials.
“What does that mean for your future consumer, your future workforce?” Rodriguez asked. “If you’re thinking ahead, those things should be part of the equation.”
Hyatt’s Pinkerton pointed out data from Booking.com that shows 69% of LGBTQ+ travelers say they choose airlines and other brands that practice inclusion.
“So not only is it the right decision, data shows that when you offer a place of acceptance and celebration, people will spend more,” Pinkerton said.
“If there are lessons to be learned from last year, it’s ‘what are your values?’ And how are you standing in your values to authentically engage?” Rodriguez at Edelman asked.
“Clients that I’m working with a lot, they’re focusing on local and making sure that their employees feel seen and heard. They’re showing up where they’ve shown before and understanding that allyship is more than just reading the chapter saying the words and changing your logo to a rainbow.”
The FBI and the Department of Homeland Security issued a joint public service announcement last week warning that foreign terrorist organizations, or FTOs, could target events during LGBTQ Pride Month.
“Foreign terrorist organizations or supporters may seek to exploit increased gatherings associated with the upcoming June 2024 Pride Month,” the announcement reads. “FTO efforts to commit or inspire violence against holiday celebrations, including Pride celebrations or LGBTQIA+-related venues, are compounded by the current heightened threat environment in the United States and other western countries.”
Officials cited “ISIS messaging” focused on anti-LGBTQ rhetoric and the arrests of three alleged ISIS sympathizers in an attempted knife attack at a Pride parade in Vienna, Austria, last year as reasons for concern.
They also referred to the upcoming eighth anniversary of the 2016 Pulse nightclub mass shooting in Orlando, Florida, which left 49 people dead and 53 wounded.
Officials did not name any foreign terrorist organization other than ISIS. They also did not cite a specific city or particular Pride event that was of heightened concern as a potential target.
Pride groups and local law enforcement agencies that organize and protect events in some of the nation’s largest cities sought to reassure attendees.
“We can’t run and hide, and we can’t stop living our lives because hatemongers want us to,” NYC Pride’s executive director, Sandra Perez, told NBC New York. “We will do what we always do, which is work with law enforcement and our private security to make sure this is as safe as possible.”
A spokesperson for the New York City Police Department said in an email to NBC News on Wednesday that the department “remains ever-ready and ever-vigilant” in protecting New Yorkers this Pride Month.
“The New York Police Department provides a significant and complex counterterrorism overlay to the events and celebrations around Pride month each June in New York City,” the spokesperson said. “The department’s Intelligence and Counterterrorism Bureau also closely monitors all relevant streams of intelligence, in real time, as they relate to foreign terrorist groups or domestic violent extremists.”
A spokesperson for San Francisco Pride said in a statement to NBC Bay Area on Wednesday that the group takes all potential threats “seriously” and is working closely with law enforcement.
“As in previous years, we will monitor any potential risks and plan accordingly to ensure a secure and enjoyable experience for everyone who joins us to celebrate Pride,” the spokesperson added.
Brandon Wolf, a Pulse nightclub shooting survivor who is now a spokesperson for the nation’s largest LGBTQ advocacy group, the Human Rights Campaign, said in a text message on Wednesday that “Pride is a defiant demand for a world where everyone is free to be themselves without fear of hate and violence.”
“This alert, on the eve of 8 years since Pulse, is a good reminder to stay vigilant,” Wolf said. “But the greatest antidotes to the threat of hate are living out loud, celebrating Pride defiantly, loving without apology, and waving our flags higher than ever before.”
Last year, a Kansas man was arrested on charges of threatening to bomb and “commit a mass shooting” at an LGBTQ Pride event in Nashville, Tennessee. In 2022, police arrested 31 people affiliated with the white nationalist group Patriot Front for suspicion of rioting at a Pride event in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho. And in 2021, authorities arrested a Long Island man who they said threatened to attackNew York City’s Pride march with “firepower” that would “make the 2016 Orlando Pulse Nightclub shooting look like a cakewalk.”
What if the number of words you could speak was limited to 140 a day? That’s the premise of Lemons, Lemons, Lemons, Lemons, Lemons, in which a new couple must choose their words carefully to navigate both their relationship and the outside world.
A hilarious, thought-provoking look at how we use – and waste – language to express love, protest, fear, sorrow, and the everyday ups and downs of life.
“A beautiful play about the beauty and preciousness of language” – Time Out “Timely and tart” – The Stage
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Harrison Butker should have known what he was doing when he wrote a commencement speech at Benedictine College seemingly seeking to return American culture to the 1950s.
The kicker for the Kansas City Chiefs in his speech on Saturday unleashed a torrent of personal opinion that attacked the LGBTQ community and trans people, women in the workplace, bishops who didn’t do what he wanted, and everyone else who isn’t a masculine conservative Christian man.
Butker did all of that as the NFL has been working for years to attract a broader, more diverse group of people not just as fans, but as active participants on the sidelines of games, in front offices and even on the field.
The NFL’s Chief Diversity Officer, Jonathan Beane, made it clear to Outsports the NFL is not on board with what Butker said.
“Harrison Butker gave a speech in his personal capacity,” Beane told Outsports in a written statement. “His views are not those of the NFL as an organization. The NFL is steadfast in our commitment to inclusion, which only makes our league stronger.”
Yet one of the worst outcomes of Butker’s speech has been the license some NFL fans now feel, after seeing his speech, to offer their support to him and his homophobic, misogynist opinions.
There are thousands of these messages on social media. The green light to belittle gay people and women has been seen by people across America.
It’s good the NFL front office has spoken out about this.
Yet void in all of this is any comment from the Kansas City Chiefs. Given the team has actively sought to build their fanbase among women, it’s a dereliction of duty to not say something publicly.
A player on their team said women will be most happy serving their man and making babies. He called LGBTQ Pride Month a “deadly sin.”
Silence about all of this really should not be an option.
A police investigation into Republican operative Ali Alexander is still ongoing, a spokesperson for the Johnstown Police Department in Colorado confirmed to the Daily Dot on Wednesday, and has now extended to Texas. The Daily Dot reported in April of last year that a case had been opened into allegations that Alexander used promises of advancement in the conservative movement to try and groom underage boys.
Alexander is also accused of offering jobs to the boys, who were in the orbit of Nick Fuentes’ fascist America First movement, in exchange for send him sexual images and videos. The Daily Dot reported last week that a video of Fuentes admitting that he knew about the grooming allegations swirling around Alexander long before they went public had resurfaced on X after Fuentes had his account reinstated.
Alexander last appeared here in September 2023 when he declared that American Jews are “inherently foreign.”
Alexander, whose real name is Ali Akbar, has claimed that videos showing him at the Capitol on January 6th are “deep fakes.”
He appeared here in November 2022 when he claimed that he has the ability to time-travel and could will Kari Lake into office with the power of his mind.
In October 2022, he called for a “violent Christian crusade” against “sexual perversion,” which presumably would include soliciting dick pics from underage boys.
Ella Anthony knew it was time to leave her native Nigeria when she escaped an abusive, forced marriage only to face angry relatives who threatened to turn her in to police because she was gay.
Since Nigeria criminalizes same-sex relationships, Anthony fled a possible prison term and headed with her partner to Libya in 2014 and then Italy, where they both won asylum. Their claim? That they had a well-founded fear of anti-LGBTQ persecution back home.
While many of the hundreds of thousands of migrants who arrive in Italy from Africa and the Mideast are escaping war, conflict and poverty, an increasing number are fleeing possible prison terms and death sentences in their home countries because of their sexual orientation or gender identity, advocates say.
And despite huge obstacles to win asylum on LGBTQ grounds, Anthony and her partner, Doris Ezuruike Chinonso. are proof that it can be done, even if the challenges remain significant for so-called “rainbow refugees” like them.
“Certainly life here in Italy isn’t 100% what we want. But let’s say it’s 80% better than in my country,” Chinonso, 34, said with Anthony by her side at their home in Rieti, north of Rome. In Nigeria, “if you’re lucky you end up prison. If you’re not lucky, they kill you,” she said.
“Here you can live as you like,” she said.
Anthony and Chinonso have coffee at their house in Italy.Alessandra Tarantino / AP
Most European countries don’t keep statistics on the number of migrants who claim anti-LGBTQ persecution as a reason for seeking refugee protection under international law. But non-governmental organizations that track the phenomenon say the numbers are rising as countries pass or toughen anti-homosexuality laws — a trend being highlighted on Friday’s observance of the International Day Against Homophobia, Biphobia and Transphobia.
To date, more than 60 countries have anti-LGBTQ laws on the books, most of them in Africa, the Middle East and parts of Asia.
“The ultimate result is people trying to flee these countries to find safe haven elsewhere,” said Kimahli Powell, chief executive of Rainbow Railroad, which provides financial, legal and logistical support to LGBTQ+ people needing asylum assistance.
In an interview, Powell said his organization had received about 15,000 requests for assistance last year, up from some 9,500 the year before. One-tenth of those 2023 requests, or about 1,500, came from Uganda, which passed an anti-homosexuality law that year that allows the death penalty for “aggravated homosexuality,” and up to 14 years in prison for “attempted aggravated homosexuality.”
Nigeria also criminalizes consensual same-sex relations between adults and the public display of affection between same-sex couples, as well as restricting the work of groups that advocate for gay people and their rights, according to Human Rights Watch. In regions of Nigeria where Sharia law is in force, LGBTQ+ people can face up to 14 years in prison or the death penalty.
Anthony, 37, said it was precisely the threat of prison that compelled her to leave. She said her family had sold her into marriage, but that she left the relationship because her husband repeatedly abused her. When she returned home, her brother and uncles threatened to turn her into police because she was gay. The fear and alienation drove her first to attempt suicide, and then take up a trafficker’s offer to pay for passage to Europe.
Anthony and Chinonso show photos of themselves together. Alessandra Tarantino / AP
“At a certain point, I couldn’t take all these sufferings,” Anthony said through tears. “When this man told me that I should abandon the village, I immediately accepted.”
After arriving in Libya, Anthony and Chinonso paid traffickers for the risky boat trip across the Mediterranean Sea to Italy, where they both claimed asylum as a member of a group — LGBTQ+ people — who faced persecution in Nigeria. According to refugee norms, applicants for asylum can be granted international protection based on being a “member of a particular social group.”
But the process is by no means easy, straightforward or guaranteed. Privacy concerns limit the types of questions about sexual orientation that migrants can be asked during the asylum interview process. Social taboos and a reluctance to openly identify as gay or transgender mean some migrants might not volunteer the information immediately. Ignorance on the part of asylum interviewers about anti-gay laws in countries of origin can result in unsuccessful claims, according to the EU Agency for Asylum, which helps EU countries implement asylum norms.
As a result, no comprehensive data exists about how many migrants seek or win asylum in the EU on LGBTQ+ grounds. Based on estimates reported by NGOs working with would-be refugees, the numbers in individual EU countries ranged from two to three in Poland in 2016 to 500 in Finland from 2015-2017 and 80 in Italy from 2012-2017, according to a 2017 report by the EU Agency for Fundamental Rights.
An EU directive grants special protection for people made vulnerable due to sexual discrimination, prescribing “special procedural guarantees” in countries that receive them. However, it doesn’t specify what those guarantees involve and implementation is uneven. As a result, LGBTQ+ asylum seekers don’t always find protected environments once in the EU.
“We’re talking about people who are unfortunately victims of a double stigma: being a migrant, and being members of the LGBTQIA+ community,” said lawyer Marina De Stradis.
Even within Italy, the options vary widely from region to region, with the better-funded north offering more services than the less-developed south. In the capital Rome, there are only 10 beds specifically designated for LGBTQ+ migrants, said Antonella Ugirashebuja, an activist with the Arcigay association.
She said the lack of special protections often impacts female migrants more negatively than male, and can be especially dangerous for lesbians.
“Lesbians leaving Africa often, or more frequently, end up in prostitution and sexual exploitation networks because they lack (economic) support from their families,” she said. “The family considers them people to be pushed away, to be rejected … Especially in countries where this is punishable by law.”
Anthony and Chinonso consider themselves lucky: They live in a neat flat in Rieti with their dog Paddy, and dream of starting a family even if Italy doesn’t allow gay marriage.
Chinonso, who was studying medicine in Nigeria, is now a social and health worker. Anthony works at the deli counter in a Carrefour supermarket in Rome. She would have liked to have been able to continue working as a film editor, but is happy.
Denver PrideFest, one of the nation’s premier LGBTQ+ events, will celebrate its 50th anniversary June 22-23, 2024. The two-day festival unites communities from across Colorado and the Rocky Mountain region as the parade, run and festival attracted an estimated 550,000 people to downtown Denver in 2023.
Since its inception, Denver PrideFest has been a celebration of unity, inclusion and progress among the LGBTQ+ community and allies. The first LGBTQ+ pride celebration in Denver was held in 1974 as a small gathering in Cheesman Park organized by members of the Imperial Court of the Rocky Mountain Empire. Excitement from that first parade led to the founding of The Center on Colfax in 1975, a registered 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that provides year-round programs and services for the LGBTQ+ community. The Center began producing the parade and added a festival in 1990. Since then, Denver PrideFest has grown into the largest celebration of LGBTQ + pride in the Rocky Mountain region. Denver PrideFest continuously evolves while staying true to its core mission of promoting acceptance, diversity and love.
This year’s 50th anniversary festival kicks off with the Pride 5K presented by Smartwool on Saturday, June 22, followed by the two-day Denver PrideFest event at Civic Center Park boasting 250+ exhibitors, 30 food vendors and captivating live performances. Sunday’s Coors Light Pride Parade, starting at 9:30 a.m., will flaunt colorful floats, marchers, music and more, drawing spectators along 14 blocks of Colfax Avenue up to Civic Center Park. New this year, Denver PrideFest is partnering with The Rainbow Market Denver to create the inaugural Gayborhood Market, a space dedicated to supporting local LGBTQ+ small businesses, entrepreneurs, craft-makers and artisans by lowering the cost barrier to access PrideFest participation. The Market will be located in Lincoln Veterans Memorial Park.
The 2024 celebration will include recollections from some of the key figures in the history of Denver PrideFest, including:
Christopher Sloan (he/him), also known as the legendary Christi Layne, holds a revered position in both LGBTQ+ activism and entertainment circles. Christi held the position as Empress VI of the Imperial Court of the Rocky Mountain Empire, and secured the first permit for the Denver Pride Parade & Festival.
Phil Nash (he/him), a Denver resident since 1976, has left an indelible mark on the city’s LGBTQ+ community. He served as the first director of The Center on Colfax and was the first president of the Board of Directors of the Colorado AIDS Project in 1984. Now returning to his roots in freelance writing, he is set to release LGBTQ Denver through Arcadia Publishing in 2024, offering an informed perspective on Denver’s vibrant LGBTQ+ history.
Rex Fuller (he/him) is the Chief Executive Officer at The Center on Colfax, where he has demonstrated an unwavering commitment to fostering inclusivity and support within the LGBTQ+ community. Prior to his current role, he served as the Vice President of Communications and Corporate Giving for six years. Through his leadership, Fuller continues to empower and uplift LGBTQ+ individuals across Colorado and beyond.
Phil Wade (he/him) played a pivotal role in the historic Denver Gay Revolt at City Council on October 23, 1973. As an out Denver Public School teacher at a time when LGBTQ+ individuals faced discrimination and legal constraints, Wade’s presence symbolized a courageous stand for equality and liberation.
Jameson Johnson (he/they), renowned for their drag persona, Ophelia Peaches, is a dynamic force in the LGBTQ+ community. As a public speaker, drag performer and queer activist advocate, Johnson empowers others through creativity and self-expression. Notably, Johnson is the vibrant face behind Denver’s Dragutante and has been featured on the reality TV series, Generation Drag.
Anthony Aragon (he/him), Director of Community Engagement & Government Affairs at the National Western Center Authority, is deeply committed to serving Denver’s diverse communities. With over 30 years of dedicated involvement in Denver’s LGBTQ+ community, including organizing the Denver Pride parade for 19 years, Anthony has been a tireless advocate for equality and inclusion. Aragon’s extensive civic engagement, including serving as a Commissioner on the Colorado Civil Rights Commission, President of the Board of Directors for Equal Rights Colorado and a founding board member of One Colorado, reflects his passion for building a more equitable and vibrant city for all.
Denver Pride will feature performers on three different stages, Center Stage, Absolut Dance World Stage and the Latin Stage brought to you by US Bank. The Center Stage line-up will feature:
Alyssa Edwards presented by Nissan (she/her) Justin Dwayne Lee Johnson, widely known as Alyssa Edwards, is an American entertainer, choreographer, drag performer and television personality. His breakthrough came on the fifth season of RuPaul’s Drag Race in 2012, where his candid testimonials, iconic tongue-pops and distinctive personality made him a fan favorite. He later returned for Season 2 of RuPaul’s Drag Race: All Stars in 2016, finishing as the fourth runner-up. In addition to his international appearances, Johnson owns and operates the award-winning dance studio Beyond Belief Dance Company in Mesquite, Texas. The studio and Johnson are featured in the Netflix Original docuseries Dancing Queen, produced by RuPaul and World of Wonder.
Shea Couleé (she/they) is a non-binary, internationally-renowned drag superstar, recording artist, model and actor, known for their fashion-forward editorial looks, expanding their artistry and brand into many different spaces, and their consistent use of the art of drag and costuming as a medium for larger storytelling, having been applauded by Vogue for doing so. Couleé is the Season 5 winner (2020) of VH1’s RuPaul’s Drag Race All Stars and finished a finalist on Season 7 (2022), the special all-winners edition.
Pattie Gonia (they/she/he) is a critically acclaimed drag queen, artist and environmentalist. Their work exists to diversify the outdoor/environmental movements and Make Nature Gay Again. Pattie has been named Outside Magazine’s Person of the Year, National Geographic Traveler of the Year and most recently, Time Magazine named Pattie a Next Gen Leader 2023.
Mirage, (she/her) hailed the “Legs of Las Vegas,” Mirage steals the show wherever she goes, captivating audiences worldwide with her electrifying performances and signature heel clacking.
As the largest city in a 600-mile radius, Denver attracts members of the LGBTQ+ community from all over the West and the world for PrideFest and throughout the year, resulting in a well-established gay nightlife, welcoming neighborhoods, LGBTQ+-friendly hotels and numerous annual events that draw huge crowds.
Denver is praised as a welcoming and inclusive city for all. In fact, Colorado was recognized in the top 5 States for LGBTQ+ Equality in the 2023 State LGBTQ+ Business Climate Index released by Out Leadership, the premier global LGBTQ+ organization harnessing the power of business to drive equality. LawnStarter ranked Denver No. 4 in their list of 2023’s Most LGBTQ-Friendly Cities, noting Denver’s scores related to equality, community support, affordability, health care access and Pride-Readiness for the LGBTQ+ community. Denver’s RiNo (River North) Art District was selected as one of the Top 5 Emerging Gay Neighborhoods in America by Passport Magazine. Denver is also proud to be one of ten finalists to host the Gay Games XIII 2030 and only US city to make the final cut.
This week, Congress will replace a statue of a white supremacist with one of a queerphobe… and its unveiling ceremony on Thursday will likely be attended by House Speaker Mike Johnson (R), who has ties to anti-LGBTQ+ Christian nationalists.
A statue of influential anti-LGBTQ+ evangelical Christian Rev. Billy Graham statue will replace one of former North Carolina Gov. Charles Aycock (D). Aycock was an early 20th-century education advocate and slave owner who sought to permanently disenfranchise and subjugate Black voters. He said Black people contributed nothing to society, despite America’s wealth being built on the backs of unpaid Black labor.
The 7-foot-tall bronze statue of Graham will depict him gesturing toward an open Bible in his hand. Its base will have an inscription of two Bible verses that highlight his evangelistic ministry — John 3:16 and John 4:16 — the Associated Press reported. The $650,000 statue was paid for by The Billy Graham Evangelistic Association.
The statue will be installed as part of the Capitol’s National Statuary Hall Collection. Its installation occurred, in part, because of a 2015 bill approved by North Carolina’s General Assembly asking for Graham to replace Aycock. Such replacements occur occasionally.
Graham — who had the rare honor of having his body lie in state in the Capitol Rotunda when he died in 2018 at the age of 99 — considered homosexuality to be a “sinister form of perversion” and AIDS as an anti-gay punishment from God (though he later walked back the latter comment).
In addition to Johnson, the statue’s unveiling ceremony will be attended by other Republicans and some of Graham’s family members. Graham’s son, Franklin Graham, took over his father’s ministry and has made it much more actively anti-LGBTQ+.
Not only does Johnson have many deep ties to the anti-LGBTQ+ Christian Nationalist movement, but he also worked for the anti-LGBTQ+ hate group Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF). While there, he argued that gay sex should be illegal. He has said that same-sex marriage will lead to “chaos and sexual anarchy,” people trying to marry their pets, and “pedophiles” seeking legal protections for having sex with kids. He has also said, “Homosexual relationships are inherently unnatural… ultimately harmful and costly for everyone” and that America is “dark and depraved” because there are too many LGBTQ+ people. He’s also a proponent of debunked attempts to turn gay people straight.
