These Pride Festivals Are Banning Conservative Politicians From Attending

CHRISTOPHER KATSAROV LUNA/AFP via Getty Images

You’ve heard of the “No Cops at Pride” discourse. Now get ready for “No Politicians at Pride!”

Earlier this month, 14 Pride organizations in Alberta, one of Canada’s most conservative provinces, released a joint statement pledging to ban politicians with the right-wing United Conservative Party (UCP) from taking part in their programming this June. The organizations include Calgary Pride and Edmonton’s Pride Corner, which represent the LGBTQ+ Pride festivals in Alberta’s two largest cities. Other signatories include Prides in the cities of Banff, Canmore, Jasper, and Lethbridge.

“You may not join our celebrations in June when you plan to attack us in September,” reads a May 17 statement posted on Facebook. “Queer rights should not be a political decision. Trans rights are human rights.”

The decision to ban conservative politicians is a direct response to anti-LGBTQ+ policies being pushed in both provinces, according to Pride groups.

In February, Alberta Premier Danielle Smith announced a slate of anti-trans policy proposals, including banning hormone therapy for youth under the age of 16 and requiring trans students under the age 16 to gain parental permission to use a pronoun that doesn’t match their assigned sex at birth. Students younger than 16 would need permission to use a name that is not their legal name, and schools would be required to notify the parents of older students if they change their name or pronouns at school.

The Alberta government also will consider restricting participation in women’s and girls’ sports to cisgender female athletes and allowing parents to opt their children out of classroom discussions of sexuality or gender, according to Smith.

The Albertan organizations’ decision comes only a few days after LGBTQ+ organizers in neighboring Saskatchewan, another conservative province, likewise announced that they would be banning right-wing politicians from Pride. “They’re not our allies,” Mirtha Rivera, the co-chair of Regina’s Queen City Pride, told the Regina Leader-Post. “An ally to us is somebody who will support us, who will be beside us and will make us feel safe.”

Queen City Pride’s ban was reportedly triggered by its local conservative party, the Saskatchewan Party, registering to participate in the festival, after having previously put forward anti-LGBTQ+ legislation.

Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe has participated in Queen City Pride in the past, telling CTV News in 2019 that marching in the parade was the “right thing to do.” Since then, Moe has backed legislation that would require students to obtain parental consent to change their pronouns. When a court ruled the law unconstitutional, Moe vowed to circumnavigate the decision by using a clause in the Canadian constitution. It’s unclear if he has been successful in doing so.

“We decided as a board that we might have to put some distance between us and the Saskatchewan Party,” Riviera Bonneau, the co-executive director of Queen City Pride, told the Los Angeles Blade. “We were very hopeful that they would change course, but they’ve gone against our Charter of Rights. We’re not OK with this, and they’re not backing down.”

These recent moves by right-wing politicians have engendered significant backlash from LGBTQ+ Canadians, who claim that these decisions will intensify vitriol against the community during an already tense political moment. Despite Canada’s reputation for progressivism, Drag Story Hour events across the country have faced far-right protests, threats, and intimidation in recent years, and local school boards have been taken over by extremist candidates.

That’s why Pride groups felt it was so important to send a message of solidarity in the face of increased hate, including from their elected political leaders.

“When queer people are being attacked by our government, we come together and get things done,” James Demers, a community organizer with Queer Citizens United, the umbrella organization overseeing Alberta Pride events, told the Blade.

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Originally Appeared on them.