#nashville pride 2023

[fletchernetwork]

FLETCHER Nashville Pride Festival June 24, 2023

[seraphic-sapphic-safehaven]

Nashville Pride: Sunday photo dump!

Bonus: Video of Corook & Olivia Barton performing "If I Were a Fish" 🐠🩷

I was so excited for this song because I bought kazoos to pass out to everyone around me for when they played the song 😅 Made a lot of people happy and had a great time!

[um-vvhat]

Me having to work instead of being at pride festival is homophobic

[oeldeservesthenorris]

Just gonna keep amplifying the voices of the allies, forget the rest

[filips-forsberg]

Some Colin and Lauren recents <3

[letsgetrowdy43]

Can you do fantilli x Hughes sister draft day maybe?

Need you there—

Au Masterlist!!

"It's yours and your family's big day Adam, you've worked your ass off for all of it, I really don't want to intrude on it," she said quietly as her fingers raked through his hair. A content smile danced on her lips as his hand squeezed her upper thigh, his eyes held a pleading look as he caught her gaze.

"You wouldn't be imposing," he stopped his thoughts to place a short kiss to the inside of her thigh, "I promise you, I want you there," he lifts his head off of her lap, a sincere look on his face as he leaned forward and placed a kiss on her shoulder, "it would mean everything to me if you were there alongside me and my family, and it would make me a hell of a lot less anxious too" he pleaded.

His fingers now played with her tank top strap as he repeatedly placed sloppy kisses on her jaw, a laugh erupting from her. "You swear you're family will be okay with it?" "Of course," he said in between kisses, his hands cupping her jaw, "They love you, I love you, we want you there," his nose brushing against her as she leaned forward to finally kiss him on the lips, but he backed away slowly to say one last thing. "And even if they didn't, it's my day, and I need you there," he finally gave in and kissed her on the lips.

She smiled into his mouth, fingers gripping at his cotton shirt, she pulled away and nested her forehead against his, “I'll be there," she mumbled as he moved up and once again kissed her sweetly.

ꕥꕥꕥ

The NHL awards ceremony was held in Nashville, two days prior to the draft, it was a nerve-racking day for the Hughes family as they awaited the outcome of the Lady Byng Trophy in hopes of Jack winning. This meant that her attendance at the draft worked out much easier than she had anticipated.

She had gotten herself a maroon-coloured body con dress, that matched his suit, a detail that she and Julia had worked out to make the couple’s outfits more coherent. Adam was at a loss for words when she appeared at his doorway just hours before his name would be called at the 2023 NHL Draft.

Her hair fell just past her shoulders, curled at the ends, and her makeup was done subtly to really bring out her flawless features.

“You look perfect” he stuttered with a grin as he shut the door behind her, his cheeks warm as he really took in how her dress complimented her curves. Hands finding her hips as she spun around to be face to face with him, Y/n smiled up at him before going up on her tiptoes to place a gentle kiss on his lips, “You don't look so bad yourself” she whispered as his smile grew.

Adam took her by the hand and spun her around to admire her one last time, “where are your brothers?” he mumbled as she grinned at his dazed expression. “Luke is with Gavin and Luca by the bus, and the other two are with our parents,” she said fixing the strands of hair falling into his face. He pulled away slightly panicked, “The bus is here?” “Yes but you still have twenty minutes till you have to be down there,” she said softly as she reached into her clutch for a wrapped gift box, “I got you a little draft present for your big day”

She pushed him down onto the hotel bed, Adam looked at her confused as he held his hands out, and she gently placed the box in his palms. “What is it?” “Just open it you dummy,” she grinned as he ripped the wrapping paper off of it, the smile on his face turning into a look of shock as he pulled out a gold chain.

He looked up, biting the inside of his lip as he stared up at Y/n, whose face was laced with pride, “You got this for me?” “It matches the one you got me for Christmas” She grinned as her finger hooked the gold chain around her neck, a tiny “19” charm that hung from it. Adam's face softened as he pulled her into his frame, his hands found her face as he kissed her softly.

"I love you," he mumbled in between kisses as her hands played with the hair at the back of his neck. She pulled away, her hand now on top of his as she intertwined their fingers, "I love you too," she smiled and kissed his temple, "I'm so proud of you, now let's go get you on that bus."

ꕥꕥꕥ

The Fantilli family found their assigned seats, "sit next to him," Luca whispered to Y/n as she shook her head and pushed him in the direction of the seat next to his brother. "You're his brother and best friend, this is your day just as much as his," she grinned and gave him a side hug before taking the seat two chairs down from her boyfriend.

Her three brothers who had also decided to attend the draft while they were still in town came up to the Fantilli's to congratulate Adam on his upcoming placement. Luke grinned at his younger sister as he watched her converse with Julia and Ellen, a small smile on his face as he watched their families mingling and getting along. A happy feeling for her in his chest, even after his short term of disapproval, he knew at this moment that she and Adam were a forever type of love.

Adam sat down by himself as their two families conversed, and stared off into space as he watched the minutes countdown. Y/n watched him from afar giving him a second to take it all in before she moved down a seat to hold his hand, "nervous?" she asked quietly. "It's overwhelming, but I'm so ready," he said, thumb rubbing against her knuckles as he finally looked at her. "This is your dream, enjoy it all," she said smiling before raising their hands to place a kiss on the back of his.

"I'm still not over how good you look in this dress," he whispered as his eyes raked over her once again. "Yeah?" "I don't think there is a single adjective in the English language that could tell you how hot you look in this dress" he laughed as her face heated up. "I would have been happy with a simple beautiful," she said fanning her face to stop any further appearance of being flustered, “you’re so cheesy.” "Beautiful doesn't even begin to cover it" he mused as he squeezed her hand.

An hour had passed and all of the draftees family's found their seats. The time had come. Nashville's head coach walked onto the big stage and started his opening speech, welcoming everyone who made the effort to come out in support of the draft.

It was well known in the hockey community that Adam was projected to go second or third to either the Ducks or the Blue Jackets, so as the general manager for Anaheim walked onto the stage Y/n couldn't help but find herself gripping the arms of her chair tightly, breath caught in her throat as she watched the man make it across the stage and to the microphone just to call out Leo Carlsson’s.

Her hand reached out for Adams as she watched his knee bounce in her peripheral vision. Two minutes now on the clock for the Blue Jackets

Jarmo Kekalainen cleared his throat as he stood in front of the microphone, "With the third pick overall, the Blue Jackets are pleased to pick from the University of Michigan, Adam Fantilli!" he announced over the mic making the entire family stand up with teary-eyes, cheering as Adam broke out into smiles.

He went down the line hugging his brother first, Luca was teary-eyed as he swayed his brother back and forth, then onto his parents who were still in shock. Finally, he made his way up to his girlfriend who smiled softly at him, tears in her eyes as she pulled him into a hug, "Take it all in, love" she whispered as he pulled away and kissed her quick on the mouth. "I love you, see you later" he couldn't wipe the smile off his face as he made his way up to the big stage, trading in his maroon suit jacket for an blue, white and red jersey, posing for photos before heading off for interviews.

"Looks like you're moving to Ohio," Luca laughed, wiping his eyes as he nudged Y/n. "Always knew I was meant for wag life" she mumbled as Luca pulled her into a hug, "I'm so emotional right now," she said still crying into his neck. "Me too," he laughed as the tears came back.

-

-

-

[petrovna-zamo]

Event Schedule

2025:

August 16th: São Paulo, Brazil - The Realness Festival

2024:

January 5th: Salt Lake City - TB&TB Live*

January 6th: Denver - TB&TB Live*

January 19th: Philadelphia - TB&TB Live*

January 20th: Pittsburgh - TB&TB Live*

February 1st: Monterrey, Mexico - TB&TB Live

February 2nd: Mexico City, Mexico - TB&TB Live

February 28th: San Diego - TB&TB Live*

March 1st: Los Angeles - TB&TB Live*

March 18th: Richmond - TB&TB Live*

March 20th: Atlanta - TB&TB Live*

May 1st: Katya’s Birthday!

May 9th: Cincinnati - TB&TB Live

May 10th: Indianapolis - TB&TB Live

June 8th: Salt Lake City - MILK+ Pride

June 14th: Chicago - Roscoe’s

June 21st: Louisville - Play Louisville

June 28th: Royal Oak - Five15RoyalOak

June 30th: Seattle - Queer Pride Festival

July 5th: Nashville - Play Nashville

August 23rd: Trixie’s Birthday!

September 5th: Albuquerque - TB&TB Live*

September 7th: Sacramento - TB&TB Live*

September 28th: San Francisco - Princess Oasis

October 12th: Atlanta - Wussy Events

October 24th: Baltimore - TB&TB Live

October 25th: Providence - TB&TB Live

October 27th: Online - Veeps Virtual Halloween Special

October 31st: Perth - ITD Scream Queen

November 1st: Sydney - ITD Scream Queen

November 2nd: Melbourne - ITD Scream Queen

November 3rd: Brisbane - ITD Scream Queen

November 16th: Columbus - TB&TB Live

November 17th: Charlotte - TB&TB Live

December 4th: St. Louis - TB&TB Live

December 6th: Madison - TB&TB Live

December 8th: Madison - TB&TB Live

2023:

February 16th-March 8th: North America - Last T&K Live Tour

February 24th: Chicago - TB&TB Live

April 8th: Boston - MassArt Alumni Talk

May 1st: Katya’s Birthday!

May 7th: Online - Drag Isn't Dangerous Telethon

June 1st: Online - Trixie & Katya Live Livestream

June 8th: LA - Apocalipst!ck Cabaret - Pride Show

June 13th: New York City - ILTW Live

June 17th: London - Afternoon Tea

June 22nd: New York City - Pier 17 Pride

July 27th: Montreal - JFL TB&TB Live

July 28th: Minneapolis - TB&TB Live

August 11th: Melbourne - Drag Expo Opening Gala*

August 12th-13th: Melbourne - Drag Expo*

August 23rd: Trixie’s Birthday!

August 30th: Milwaukee - This is It Pride*

October 31st: LA - Apocalipst!ck Cabaret - Halloween Show

November 16th: Houston - TB&TB Live

November 17th: New Orleans - TB&TB Live

* = Rescheduled Date

[mercurialkitty]

NASHCON '24 and Murfreesboro, TN

I have a close family member who lives in Nashville. I visit in December and we both go to Nashcon. I live in another state but used to live in TN. We talked this morning and I told her that Nashcon was moved from Nashville to Murfreesboro for December 2024. She was shocked. I thought she was worried about the extra distance to Nashville. Apparently I haven't kept up w/TN politics.

"In June 2023, the city council of Murfreesboro enacted an ordinance outlawing “indecent exposure, public indecency, lewd behavior, nudity or sexual conduct”. The rule did not explicitly mention homosexuality, but LGBTQ+ people in the town quickly realized that the ordinance references 21-72 of the city code, which categorizes homosexuality as an act of indecent sexual conduct.

The ordinance was essentially a covert ban on LGBTQ+ existence."

Fortunately the ACLU (please thank and support the ACLU) challenged this.

"...the government of Murfreesboro removed “homosexuality” from the list of acts defined as “public indecency” by the city code. The small victory came after officials repeatedly refused to issue permits for the BoroPride Festival, citing the new ordinance.

Despite the ACLU’s recent win, advocates warn that the story of Murfreesboro represents a new frontier in anti-LGBTQ+ lawmaking."

Ideally, this is NOT the atmosphere an SPN con should be in. I get that hotels in Nashville are outrageously expensive and hotels in Murfreesboro are cheap. Personally, I'd rather not reward Murfreesboro for a change that only came about because the ACLU sued them.

I'm still figuring what to do. Boycott? Show up in a car covered in a pride flag and see what happens? The one thing I do feel sure about is that it's important to me to spread the word in the fandom, because I think we all should consider what this means to us individually.

[workscounselingcenter]

Pride Month: The Power of Community

Bigots will often say, “Why do they need a whole month to parade around their sexuality, etc.?” They fail to realize, however, that pride month is about so much more than sex or sexuality. It’s about authenticity. It’s also about honoring those who have passed due to LGBTQIA+ violence or during the HIV/AIDS epidemic, building community, and so much more.

Queer and queer-allied community is powerful, especially in a state like Tennessee. Here are some ways to build LGBTQIA+ community during and/or outside of pride month:

Go to Nashville Pride! The parade is fantastic and everyone is so kind. This year, we will have a booth at Nashville Pride, so please do come say hi! Pride will be June 22 & June 23, 2024!

Our friends to the south, the city of Franklin, are also having a pride festival! Last year, my colleagues and I had a booth there, and we will again this year. Franklin Pride will be June 1!

If you can and want to travel, visit other cities’ pride festivals!!

Attending drag shows are a fantastic way to build community. You can catch these at many places across the city.

Visit and engage with pro-LGBTQIA+ establishments. For instance, if you like yoga, go take a class at Shakti Power Yoga on Music Row! They are a lovely, pro-LGBTQIA+ yoga studio.

Utilize online methods of building queer community, such as Bumble-Bff! 7. Participate in LGBTQIA+ and LGBTQIA+-allied recreational sports leagues!

The Trevor Project’s 2023 National Survey tells us so much, including the importance of community. According to their findings, “LGBTQ young people who had access to affirming homes, schools, community events, and online spaces reported lower rates of attempting suicide compared to those who did not” (Trevor Project, 2023). Half of survey respondents reported having a supportive school environment, and the respondents who did reported lower levels rates of attempting suicide (Trevor Project, 2023).

What does this tell us? Community matters, especially when it comes to protecting the wellbeing of LGBTQIA+ youth. The city of Nashville has many ways to find queer community as we approach pride month. It’s vital that we celebrate pride month, now more than ever. Governor Lee and the supermajority can pass all of the hateful legislation they want to, but they cannot take away the freedom of assembly, freedom of expression, and freedom of speech that will take place at Nashville Pride.

As I mentioned at the top, pride month is also about honoring our queer ancestors. We have lost far too many to violence and the AIDS epidemic. This blog post is in loving memory of my mom’s dear friend, Mike, a gay man who died of AIDS during the epidemic. I never met Mike, as he passed before I was born, but my mother tells me he was a beloved human and talented speech pathologist. May he rest in peace, and may his memory be a blessing.

The well-being of thousands of Tennesseans is at stake here, and if you really value life like you say you do, work with us to make this state a place for everyone.

Contact us.

[fletchernetwork]

findingxfletcher: headlining pride in nashville was a dream. thank you postmates for being there to celebrate with us by helping support glaad at the festival and Meet Her At The Bar. my heart is still so full from you all showing up, being yourselves and singing your hearts out with me. #postmatespartner

[seraphic-sapphic-safehaven]

I just saw Corook perform here at Pride, and I cried as soon as they started singing lmao 😅

I love them so much!!! 🐠

[wishingicouldfly]

View from the Ground – Louis Tomlinson – Mohegan Sun Arena, Uncasville, CT – 5/26/23

Simone and I bought the tickets the day they went on sale back in November. Nose Bleeds. But it was the best we could get that day. The same day we bought tickets for Nashville and Boston (coming in July). We couldn’t quite believe one of our local shows was the tour kick off.

The day before the show, Simone got an alert about a flash sale for tickets in a lower section for $29/ticket. Easy decision…we upgraded.

Because we had seated tickets, we were able to be relaxed about entry—which was nice. We had a nice meal, and casually walked into the venue and lined up to buy merch.

It was fun to see fellow fans--some dressed to the nines, some in Louis!Cosplay, some already decked out in merch.

The Snarls came on right at 7 p.m., followed by the Academics. Both sets were good, about half an hour each. And then, at about 9:10 p.m. local time, Louis took the stage for the opening night of his 2023 Faith in the Future World Tour.

He was magical. The stage is bigger, more screens, slicker production. The curtain with the smiley face is gone. The man strides out with confidence in himself and his band. He has a swagger that hides any nerves he might feel--and he did say he'd been nervous, but you wouldn't know it by appearance.

We went to both Boston and Washington, DC in 2022, and the vibe overall is different (at least at this first show). The crowd is more *dressed* -- cosplay, costumes, hats, a few boas, bralettes and short skirts. On the one hand I love that people take the time to plan an outfit to go out—on the other hand, I sort of miss the casual look of last year’s shows. Also, far fewer pride flags. I mean, a fraction of what we saw in Boston and DC last year. Not sure if that will change as the tour progresses, but I hope it does. There was one hanging over the balcony and a few waving in the crowd, but at Boston last year it was virtually the whole crowd waving flags.

We hadn’t seen the leaked set list prior to the show, so we were surprised at each of the songs we hadn’t expected him to play. In particular, I loved She is Beauty, We are World Class, which is one of my favorites. The rainbow lights for that song made it clear to me that he’s beginning to embrace his LGBTQ icon status.

I can’t wait for Nashville and Boston in July—I’m going to try my hand at pit again for those shows (I spectacularly bailed on pit in DC last year).

Set List:

The Greatest

Kill My Mind

Bigger Than Me

Lucky Again

Holding on to Heartache

Face the Music

We Made It

Night Changes

Chicago

Saved by a Stranger

Written all over your Face

All This Time

She is Beauty, We are World Class

Copy of a Copy of a Copy

Walls

505

Back to You

Angels Fly

Where Do Broken Hearts Go?

Saturdays

Silver Tongues

[bardicbeetle]

(content warnings for mention of death, gun violence, transphobia, and suicide)

This is something I wrote for my own personal socials + also to email to some relatives who do not use them. It's for tomorrow, so mind the dating.

I.

If you are part of the queer community, if you feel like reading then take a breathe, take care of your heart. I am writing this not to be unkind to my own blood, but to remind them where we stand. Apart or otherwise.

Today is March 31st.

Transgender day of Visibility.

My name is Larkspur.

My pronouns are they/them/theirs.

I am transgender and nonbinary.

Happy is not a word I would use to describe transgender day of visibility. It’s not one I would have used even before now, but this year has an especially sharp edge to that. We are not visible by choice, it is so often not being open as an act of self expression, or as pride. It is a scrutiny inescapable. We are told to either stay down and shut up, or die—we are vilified for simply existing. We have escalated now to hearing cries for our extermination, to being branded as child abusers, pedophiles, and now *terrorists*. To people being allowed and even encouraged to call CPS on the parents of transgender children citing transition itself as abuse, and states threatening to forcibly remove cisgender children from their families if they have transgender parents or siblings, even if they cross state lines to do so.

I cannot pretend to be hopeful.

My heart is heavy with the ongoing attempted genocide of my community. With the 41% jokes. With the people saying “It’s not *that* bad”. Wake the fuck up. It is that bad. As of today, nearly 500 bills have been introduced in 2023 alone that aim to legislate trans people out of public existence. I say public existence because regardless of what is done to hold us to the ground, we are NOT going away. The shooting in Nashville has spawned an outcry amongst Republican officials and news sources NOT over this country’s long and bright red history of gun violence, but a whipped up violent hysteria that claims transgender people are coming to kill your children and destroy your religion. I would love to say that is a surprising outcome to this newest tragedy, but that would be a lie in the extreme.

The things we do to make our bodies feel more our own are policed at every turn. When you are young you are “too young to think about that”, when you are an adult then “why bother starting now”. For the small percentage of us who seek medical transition, the procedures we seek are often trivialized and barred from us, but easy to access for cisgender people (Hormone Therapy, Breast augmentation, hairline reconstruction, etc). We are told that puberty blockers are poisoning children who “don’t know any better” when they have been prescribed to cisgender children since the 1980s. We are vilified for surgeries that are both cost prohibitive and never granted to anyone under the age of 16.

I want to make one thing very clear, if nothing else. This is MY community. I am transgender. I am no different from the rest. I am not an outlier. I am not special. The false beliefs weaponized against my community are weaponized against me. If you believe transgender people are inherently wrong, you believe I am inherently wrong. If you believe we are sick, you believe I am sick. If you believe we are against God, you believe I am against God. If you believe we are violent, you believe I am violent. If you believe we are a danger to children, you believe I am a danger to children. If you believe our existence is a threat to you, then you believe I am a threat to you. If you think because you know me that means I am different, that your beliefs and prejudices will not fall on me? You could not be more wrong. I will carry the weight like everyone in my community, I will hold each one in my chest like a stone.

I say none of this to be a thorn. I say it because I am hurting, and afraid, and *angry* and so SO tired.

I am tired of being brave. I am tired of being special. I am tired of the burden of being some people’s only mark on the board for knowing a queer person well enough to consider them “good”. I am tired of watching the people I love carry disgust and disdain in their hearts for people like me, who aren’t me. I am tired of watching the country I am supposed to call home close walls around me until the place I was born is one of the only states left that counts me as a human being and not a disease to be eradicated. I am tired of the world putting a target on the backs of my siblings just for being themselves. I am tired and heartbroken from adding more names to the list of those who have died for being themselves, either because someone decided they deserved it, or because it was their only perceived escape. I am so tired of losing people to the tide of hatred and vitriol that is spewed like a burst pipe from the heart of the world.

That is not all to say I am hopeless. I have faith in my community to fight for change even if I do not have faith in those who control how fast and how far that change goes. We are tired, but we are not backing down. We have been here the whole time, and we will continue to be here until time runs humanity into the ground. Gender diverse individuals can be traced back as far as 4500 BCE. We are not going to lie down and die over this. We are not going to stand by and be erased.

Today is transgender day of visibility.

For better or for worse, I am making sure that you see ALL of me.

[leehallfae]

https://www.tumblr.com/leehallfae/713992010181312512/i-dont-transition-to-escape-social-expectations A trans person killed three inocent people last week, one being a little girl. Who's dying again?

“extremist politicians and pundits are focusing on speculations about the shooter and fear-mongering about transgender people because they have no interest or willpower to offer real commonsense solutions to america’s gun problem.”

— jay brown, human rights campaign (x)

“there were 1,529 total mass shootings in 2018, 2018, 2022, and so far in 2023. a mass shooting is defined as four or more people shot or killed, not including the shooter. based on that total, four transgender shooters would be 0.3 percent of the mass shooters, compared to 99.7 percent who are cisgender.”

— lisa chiu, “what mass shooters have in common, and what they don’t” (x)

“a spokesperson for the violence project, which records data on mass shootings in the u.s. since 1966 with ‘four or more’ people killed in public [said] that ‘nashville is the first case of a trans’ perpetrator in their database and per their methodology. …the gun violence archive, which began collecting data on gun violence in the u.s. in 2013 […] recorded more than 4,400 mass shootings in the last decade…. of those, ‘the number of known suspects in mass shootings which are trans is under 10 for the last decade,’ which translated to ‘1:880 [or 0.11%] of the 4,400 shootings’ they recorded…. further, the u.s. secret service national threat assessment center (ntac), which studies all forms of targeted violence including mass casualty attacks, published a report with data from 2016 to 2020 [examining] 173 attacks in the u.s. that ‘that resulted in harm to three or more individuals in public locations,’ […] and ‘three attackers (2%) were transgender’…. most mass shootings or violent gun attacks in the u.s. carried are out by cisgender men.”

— “fact check—majority of u.s. mass shooters are cis men, not transgender or non-binary people” (x)

“because ‘the base rate of incidents in general is so small, any increase looks astronomical […] so going from 1 shooting perpetrated by a transgender individual to 2 is a 100 percent increase... it is important to remember that correlation (which this is not even large enough to be that) does not equal causation.’ …mass shooters are ‘overwhelmingly cisgender heterosexual white men, so any deviation from that will certainly be seen as out of the norm.’”

— kahleda rahman, “are transgender mass shootings on the rise? what we know, what we don’t” (x)

“lgbtq+ people are more than twice as likely to be a victim of gun violence than their cisgender and straight peers. …additionally, nearly 20% of all hate crimes are motivated by sexual orientation and/or gender identity bias. …lgbtq+ youth disproportionately face violence at school: notably, 29% of transgender youth have been threatened or injured with a weapon on school property, compared to 7% of cisgender youth.”

— “facts & statistics about the impact of gun violence on lgbtq+ people” (x)

“at least five people were killed and dozens were injured in a late night shooting on nov. 19 [2022], the eve of transgender day of remembrance, which honors the memory of the lives of transgender people who were victims of discriminatory violence. the targeted bar, club q, was hosting its weekly drag show…. acts or threats of violence against the lgbtq have been seen across the country in recent months—including bomb threats toward boston children’s hospital, which offers gender-affirming care, an alleged riot plot from white nationalists at a pride parade in cœur d’alene, idaho, and more. ‘there’s actually a term for this. it’s called stochastic terrorism. and this is a documented phenomenon where when levels of hateful rhetoric towards a community rises, that it’s followed inevitably by levels of hateful actions.’”

— kiara alfonseca, “lgbtq community ‘in deep mourning’ after colorado springs shooting” (x)

[is-the-post-reliable]

requested by anonymous:

RATING: MOSTLY RELIABLE

The information is overall fairly accurate. I would note that 'first time offenders' arrested under this would not be charged with a felony, but it is true that 'second offenses' would be charged with a felony.

The statement that this could 'easily ban pride' is also a bit of an exaggeration. It is possible that pride could be seriously affected by this bill, particularly trans people at pride, and performers who are viewed to have 'sexual conduct'. However, as far as I can tell, this bill would not be able to ban pride events as a whole.

Source: ‘‘NASHVILLE, Tenn. - A bill that would criminalize some drag shows in Tennessee has passed and now awaits Governor Bill Lee's signature. The proposed law, HB0009, passed the Tennessee House of Representatives with a 74-19 vote on Thursday, February 23, 2023. It had previously passed the state senate with a vote of 26-6. The bill would make it illegal for any person to engage in an adult cabaret performance on public property  or in a location where the adult cabaret performance could be viewed by a child. If Gov. Lee allows the bill to become a law, it would be a misdemeanor for first-time offenders and a felony for second offenses.’

via ErinInTheMorn | Erin Reed Substack | House Bill 0009

[cavenewstimes]

Target scales back on its LGBTQ+ merchandise ahead of Pride Month 2024

Target confirmed that it won’t be carrying its LGBTQ+ merchandise for Pride month this June in some stores after the discount retailer received backlash last year. Here, Pride month merchandise is displayed at a Target store in Nashville, Tenn, in May 2023. George Walker IV/AP hide caption toggle caption George Walker IV/AP Target confirmed that it won’t be carrying its LGBTQ+ merchandise…