Pride week festivities in Las Vegas mix celebration with resistance

Editor's note: Este artículo está traducido al español.

Las Vegas native Brady McGill knows that celebration and resistance go hand in hand.

As president of Las Vegas Pride, he’s leading a weeklong takeover of downtown and neighborhoods across the city celebrating LGBTQ+ History Month and the generations who fought to make those celebrations possible.

But for McGill, this week means more than revelry.

As attacks on marginalized communities escalate, he sees these gatherings as both a call to action and an act of defiance: A chance for the LGBTQ+ community and allies to show up for each other, spread kindness and continue the fight for equality.

“We continue to see a rise in hate and an unfortunate rise in tension that truly has a simple solution: to see your neighbors as your friend. All human beings deserve to enjoy life; to pursue happiness; to be healthy; and to thrive,” McGill said.

He stressed that Pride reminds residents that we are all the same in that our differences are what bring us together. “We are family,” he said, alluding to Sister Sledge’s hit “We Are Family” that was expected to play at the end of Friday’s parade.

Las Vegas Pride was founded in 1992, but the first event celebrating the LGBTQ+ community happened in 1983 at UNLV. It was a weeklong affair sponsored by the Gay Academic Union, the Metropolitan Community Church and Nevadans for Human Rights, who brought together speakers for a human rights seminar and entertainers for a dance.

Many cities host their parades in the summer, but Las Vegas celebrates in October because of the intense summer heat.

Las Vegas’ Pride parade was Friday and included food trucks, exhibitors and a stage for performances, with actress Lauren Weedman, local entertainer Jimmy Emerson and Sin Sity Sisters serving as grand marshals.

Next up for communitywide gatherings is the Pride Festival, from 3 p.m. to 10 p.m. Oct. 18 at Desert Breeze Events Center.

There’s plenty to celebrate in Nevada, including the passage of Senate Concurrent Resolution 2 — recognizing the “Fruit Loop” neighborhood off Paradise Road and East Naples Drive as a historical LGBTQ+ landmark in Clark County.

Senate Bill 117 also brought another win to LGBTQ+ veterans and their families, who now will get more help from the Department of Veterans Services to upgrade discharge status and access benefits.

But, there’s also causes and concerns for the community.

This year’s theme is “We Are Family,” which Las Vegas Pride officials said was meant to encourage LGBTQ+ people to stand together at a time when rights for the LGBTQ+ community areunder assault at the federal and state levels.

Earlier this year, Gov. Joe Lombardo vetoed two bills related to the state’s transgender community: Senate Bill 141, which would have developed comprehensive transgender policies covering custody, housing, health care and mental health services for transgender inmates; and SB 171, to protect doctors who provide gender-affirming care.

During the first day of his second term in January, President Donald Trump signed an executive order declaring that the federal government would recognize only two sexes — male and female — and rolled back an executive order from former President Joe Biden that addressed discrimination based on gender identity or sexual orientation. Trump also has ordered the expulsion of transgender people from the U.S. military.

Most recently, Trump blamed the ongoing government shutdown in part on transgender people, falsely blaming them in a post uploaded to Truth Social for budget issues.

The administration also removed references to transgender people from the Stonewall Uprising from the National Parks Service website.

“President Trump claims to be a strong proponent of freedom of speech, yet he is clearly committed to censorship of any information containing or related to LGBTQ Americans and issues that we face,” said Sarah Kate Ellis, president and CEO of GLAAD, an organization that advocates for the gay community.

“This action proves the Trump administration’s goal of making it as difficult as possible for LGBTQ Americans to find federal resources or otherwise see themselves reflected under his presidency. Sadly for him, our community is more visible than ever; and this pathetic attempt to diminish and remove us will again prove unsuccessful,” Ellis continued

Southern Nevada refuses to be scared into silence.

The Southern Nevada Pride Fest of Henderson celebrated its fifth anniversary June 14, and Las Vegas Mayor Shelley Berkley designated the day as Southern Nevada Pride Fest Day to recognize the celebration.

The proclamation was awarded to the festival for its “dedication to creating safe, affirming spaces and celebrating diversity (that) strengthens the fabric of our region and exemplifies the values of equality, acceptance and civic engagement.”

André Wade, state director of Silver State Equality, said in a statement to the Sun that “the need for Pride has never been more urgent,” especially for transgender individuals who have faced specific attacks from the Trump administration.

Wade explained that the LGBTQ+ community pushed for equality under U.S. law since 1924 when Henry Gerber founded the Society for Human Rights, the first gay rights organization in the country. Las Vegas has historically accepted LGBTQ+ people in places like the Strip, where transgender entertainers were employed as far back as the 1950s.

“That spirit of inclusion remains part of the fabric of Southern Nevada and a roadmap for meeting the challenges ahead,” Wade said.

Wade maintains that Pride is more than a parade or festival.

“It’s a declaration of resilience; a reminder of our visibility and our unity,” he said. “From the earliest equality movements, through the AIDS crisis and the fight for marriage equality, and now again as we defend our hard-won advances — we’ve always shown up for one another,” Wade said. “Pride is not just a celebration; it’s a promise that together we will boldly live a life in public free of fear, violence and retribution.”