{"id":358,"date":"2026-06-07T04:08:12","date_gmt":"2026-06-07T04:08:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/smartmovinghome.com\/?p=358"},"modified":"2026-06-07T04:08:12","modified_gmt":"2026-06-07T04:08:12","slug":"as-anti-lgbtq-censorship-expands-these-cities-have-cancelled-pride-this-year","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/smartmovinghome.com\/?p=358","title":{"rendered":"As Anti-LGBTQ Censorship Expands, These Cities Have Cancelled Pride This Year"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Read more What I\u2019ve Learned From 25 Years of Covering the Global War on Terror<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Organizers in several cities across the country say they were forced to cancel historic Pride celebrations this month. Groups in several cities, including Tampa, Florida; Arlington, Texas; and Tucson, Arizona, cited a political environment that has made supporting queer events nearly impossible, both politically and financially, and attending them potentially dangerous. <\/p>\n

In Florida, for instance, a bill passed earlier this year empowers Gov. Ron DeSantis to forcibly remove any elected official who supports Pride organizations in the state. <\/p>\n

\u201cAnybody who goes and gives anything to an LGBTQ Pride organization, be it a mayor, a county commissioner, a city councilman \u2026 the governor has the right to pull you, to eliminate you, and put in whoever he wants in your position,\u201d said Carrie West, who was president of Tampa Pride until the end of last summer. <\/p>\n

According to West, this is just the beginning of the unique obstacles facing organizers in Florida and across the country in 2026. <\/p>\n

Tampa Pride was canceled earlier this year for the first time in the event\u2019s history. The organization pointed to the political and economic climate for the one-year hiatus. <\/p>\n

In previous years, Tampa Pride had brought in over $100,000 in state and federal grants for its annual celebration in June. In 2026, the organization was unable to secure a single dollar in grants, according to West. <\/p>\n

\u201cI could not get any kind of funding. \u2026 We didn\u2019t get anything free,\u201d West said. West\u2019s contract ended on Aug. 31 and was not renewed due to what the Tampa Pride board described on its website as a challenging political and economic climate.<\/p>\n

Similarly, in Arlington, a Republican government has made Pride not only challenging for organizers, but also potentially dangerous for attendees, advocates said. <\/p>\n

\u201cAt this point, we cannot in good conscience invite people to a city that refuses to protect them,\u201d said DeeJay Johannessen, CEO of the HELP Center for LGBTQ+ Health, the organization that plans Arlington Pride. <\/p>\n

In September, the Arlington City Council suspended an ordinance that included LGBTQIA+ people in Arlington\u2019s discrimination protections. The suspension was upheld in December, soon followed by the city\u2019s decision to cancel its annual Pride celebration for the first time in the event\u2019s history. <\/p>\n

While Arlington\u2019s and Tampa\u2019s celebrations previously drew tens of thousands of attendees, smaller rural prides are also bearing the weight of the hostile political climate, according to organizers. <\/p>\n

In February, the small northeastern Ohio town of Ashtabula announced that its annual celebration would also be canceled this year. <\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re in a culture where hate is celebrated more than hated,\u201d said Becke Powell, executive director of Ashtabula Pride Inc. \u201cSo our volunteer base went down because people are more afraid to show up and show out.\u201d<\/p>\n

According to Powell, Ashtabula Pride attracted around 3,000 attendees and over 100 vendors in 2025, in a town of just under 18,000. Last June, the organizers awarded around $8,000 in scholarships to LGBTQIA+ high school students in Ohio as part of the Pride celebration. <\/p>\n

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The decision to cancel this year\u2019s events was largely due to a drop in financial support from sponsors. Powell detailed a conversation they had with a leader from a formerly supportive organization. <\/p>\n

\u201cHe was heartbroken to tell me that he couldn\u2019t support. And not only could he not support by writing a check, but he also couldn\u2019t have a presence there,\u201d said Powell. <\/p>\n

The company, like several others across Ohio and the country, had shuttered its diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives that made sponsorships of local Prides possible. <\/p>\n

Tampa, Arlington, and Ashtabula join a growing list of canceled Pride celebrations as organizers face obstacles such as funding and local anti-LGBTQIA+ legislation. In January, Tucson Pride canceled all 2026 events and effectively dissolved as a result of financial hardships. In May, Long Beach Pride in California was forced to pull events as a result of permitting. <\/p>\n

Some cities, however, are forging ahead despite the anti-LGBTQIA+ forces against them.<\/p>\n

\u201cI want San Francisco Pride to provide hope for people who are feeling a lot of pressure and feeling like people don\u2019t love them,\u201d said Suzanne Ford, executive director of San Francisco Pride. \u201cAnd I want them to know that here in this city, you can love who you love, and you can be who you are.\u201d <\/p>\n

San Francisco\u2019s annual Pride celebration attracts over 1 million attendees, and last year, it raised an estimated $2.8 million in sponsorships. According to Ford, San Francisco Pride is on track for another year of parades, parties, and pride, despite the obstacles. <\/p>\n

\u201cDo not let hatemongers keep you from what is yours. If you\u2019re in the queer community in San Francisco, San Francisco Pride is yours. So don\u2019t miss that opportunity,\u201d Ford said. <\/p>\n

Whether Pride celebrations are able to move forward with events this year or not, the one message that organizers are shouting in unison is vote, vote, vote. <\/p>\n

\u201cGetting involved in elections is crucial,\u201d Johannessen said. \u201cWe got too comfortable in Arlington. \u2026This is not who we are as a country. It\u2019s not who we are as a population.\u201d <\/p>\n

And for those Pride celebrations that attendees will miss in 2026, organizers say they are already laying the groundwork for a stronger, more resilient model for future events. <\/p>\n

\u201cThe rain doesn\u2019t last forever,\u201d Powell said. \u201cThe storms will pass, and we\u2019re going to be here at the end of it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Prism is an independent and nonprofit newsroom led by journalists of color. We report from the ground up and at the intersections of injustice.<\/em><\/p>\n

Read more Judge Blocks Trump Immigration Restrictions, Orders Restart of Asylum Processing<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

With red states cracking down on LGBTQ+ events, groups in several cities say organizing Pride is dangerous.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":357,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-358","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-interesting"],"yoast_head":"\nAs Anti-LGBTQ Censorship Expands, These Cities Have Cancelled Pride This Year - Smart Moving Home<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/smartmovinghome.com\/?p=358\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"As Anti-LGBTQ Censorship Expands, These Cities Have Cancelled Pride This Year - Smart Moving Home\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"With red states cracking down on LGBTQ+ events, groups in several cities say organizing Pride is dangerous.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/smartmovinghome.com\/?p=358\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Smart Moving Home\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-06-07T04:08:12+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"5 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/smartmovinghome.com\\\/?p=358#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/smartmovinghome.com\\\/?p=358\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"admin\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/smartmovinghome.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/ec0d70042821fd684a174c8d0e8becfa\"},\"headline\":\"As Anti-LGBTQ Censorship Expands, These Cities Have Cancelled Pride This Year\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-06-07T04:08:12+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/smartmovinghome.com\\\/?p=358\"},\"wordCount\":992,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/smartmovinghome.com\\\/?p=358#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/smartmovinghome.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/42d72938896ca3f0a8d4c80e9ed247df.jpg\",\"articleSection\":[\"Interesting\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/smartmovinghome.com\\\/?p=358#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/smartmovinghome.com\\\/?p=358\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/smartmovinghome.com\\\/?p=358\",\"name\":\"As Anti-LGBTQ Censorship Expands, These Cities Have Cancelled Pride This Year - 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