Pride this year: A celebration and a call to action

Pride month has long been a celebration of our beautiful LGBTQ+ community. It is a time of radical joy and exuberance, glitter and fashion, a moment to embrace the strength of our families and relationships.

Pride is also a protest, a commemoration of a historic riot that was sparked by the violent policing of LGBTQ+ people; to this day, the month of Pride is also marked by escalated violence against our community. A beacon is also a target.

As this month approached, I found myself having side conversations with longtime activists and advocates about how nervous we are all feeling. This moment feels sharp and raw in ways we’ve not felt before. We were all looking at each other asking if we are frogs in the proverbial boiling pot — how do we know when it’s too hot and when will it be too late?

The Human Rights Campaign (HRC) has now voiced our growing concerns by issuing a National State of Emergency for LGBTQ+ Americans. This year we have seen 75 anti-LGBTQ+ bans signed into law across the country. The HRC lists eight categories of laws that are particularly harmful, and they have a diagram that lists each state along with the bans that have been enacted.

Some of the most damaging laws are being passed right here in Iowa: “Gender-Affirming Care Ban,” “Bathroom Ban,” “Sports Participation Ban,” “Forced Student Outing Law,” and “Don’t Say LGBTQ+ Law.” Our state legislature is essentially denying our transgender youth the ability to play sports, use the bathroom and decide how they want to be referred to in conversation. Our elected officials have taken away the few safe people a transgender child might confide in at school about some of the most intimate parts of who they are. And we have let them.

Don’t get me wrong, some of us have been fighting and raising hell. But not all of us. Not enough of us. And so I ask you, what are you willing to risk?

Let me be clear: this is not a cause for others; we are all boiling in this pot together. Our humanity is at stake. Make this Pride month the time when our allies step up and say enough is enough. We can’t afford to have anyone sitting on the sidelines because this is not a sport; this is our lives.

I’ve had people ask me what they can do to help. My answer is: everything. Do all that you can. If you need more information, start by checking out the One Iowa’s “Resources” page on their website. If you want to donate, we’ve got plenty of organizations doing the work- make monthly payments if you can. Read books by LGBTQ+ authors, examine your discomfort with pronouns, write to your legislator and tell them that as an Iowan you support LGBTQ+ people, because we’re Iowans, too.

And above all else, if you know someone who is LGBTQ+ tell them you see them, you care for them, and if you can, if it feels true and right, let them know you love them. And you are ready to fight.

V Fixmer-Oraiz is a Johnson County supervisor.