Guest column: It will take all our voices to see positive change again

Pride month has officially begun, but this year feels a bit different. Since the election, there has been a real fear resonating throughout the LGBTQ+ community, and with good reason. On Jan. 21, President Trump issued an executive order revoking federal civil rights protections and DEI initiatives. This order, which redefines the terms "sex" and "gender," forces the federal government to roll back protections and attempts to erase trans people from existence. The president's order is upsetting but not surprising. Legislative attacks on the LGBTQ+ community have been on the rise, with over 520 anti-LGBTQ+ bills introduced in state legislatures in 2023 alone. In the spring of 2022, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis signed into law HB 1557, known more colloquially as the "Don't Say Gay" bill. This law prohibited "classroom discussion about sexual orientation or gender identity in certain grade levels or in a specified manner."1 In his remarks following the overturning of Roe v. Wade, Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas expressed his interest in revisiting the court's ruling in Obergefell v. Hodges, which decided that same-sex couples had the right to marry under the equal protection clause and the due process clause of the Fourteenth Amendment.

It is difficult to watch as the trajectory toward progress quickly regresses into fear-mongering and antiquated ideology. It is concerning, but, again, not surprising. We've been here before. During the infamous Red Scare, a quieter, but equally dangerous, investigation took place. Over the course of two decades, the Lavender Scare saw thousands of gay and lesbian employees fired or forced to resign from the federal workforce because of their sexuality. The constant concern for one's livelihood left a generation of queer federal workers unemployed, excluded from their professions and under considerable financial strain. Severe emotional distress and suicide were not uncommon responses. In the end, it is impossible to know the impact this witch hunt had on queer government employees of this period.

In 1977, a former beauty queen became the face of a new national campaign known as Save Our Children. Anita Bryant, best known for her work as a spokesperson for Florida Citrus, was left outraged when a gay-rights ordinance was passed by the Dade County Commission. Bryant campaigned to repeal the ordinance, citing that homosexuals are a danger to children because they "cannot reproduce, so they must recruit." 2 Bryant's fear of the LGBTQ+ community led to open discrimination and the repeal of the gay rights ordinance in Dade County. In the wave of gay-rights repeals that followed, another discriminatory measure found its way on the California ballot in 1978. The Briggs Initiative, also known as Proposition Six, sought to ban gay and lesbian people and their allies from teaching in public schools. Thanks to the tireless efforts of activists like Harvey Milk, the Briggs Initiative was ultimately voted down.

As we examine the parallels of these historical moments and the current state of LGBTQ+ rights in America, it is easy to lose hope. How did we get here again? What can we do to stop it? When Bryant and Briggs were touting Christian love while spewing anti-gay hate, it was not only activists and politicians who spoke out against them, but artists as well. In 1977, the compilation album Lesbian Concentrate: A Lesbianthology of Songs and Poems was released as a direct response to Bryant's homophobic campaign. The album featured songs such as "Don't Pray for Me," which unapologetically called out Bryant's crusade and anti-gay rhetoric. Following the murder of Harvey Milk, singer-songwriter and activist Holly Near wrote a beautiful tribute to his life, titled "Singing for Our Lives." The song became an anthem for the LGBTQ+ movement. In the summer of 2016, Fellow Travelers premiered at the Cincinnati Opera. The opera, based on Thomas Mallon's book of the same name, follows the love story of two gay men during the Lavender Scare.

As with these artists, a new generation of musicians has begun speaking out against the oppression they see. Artists like Chappelle Roan, Reneé Rapp and Billie Eilish have all released gay anthems to critical and commercial acclaim. In November of last year, the compilation album Transa was released on Spotify and other streaming platforms. The album features 46 songs and contributions by trans and non-binary artists, in celebration of the trans community. Similar to Lesbian Concentrate, Transa is a direct response to the government's denial of trans identity and attack on trans rights. The significance of this album and queer artists like Rapp and Roan normalizing their love stories is an imperative first step to reclaiming space and advancing legislation. It will take all of our voices, not just the voices of artists and activists, to see positive change once again.

1 Parental Rights in Education, HB 1557 (2022).

2 Josh Levin, "How Anita Bryant Changed America," Slate (January 11, 2025), https://tinyurl.com/3278bdjp.