With bans on Pride gatherings in Hungary and the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom undermining the rights of trans women, the attacks on LGBTQ+ people are quickly becoming global. Here in the United States, President Donald Trump and anti-equality lawmakers are hellbent on removing trans servicemembers from the military, banning access to life-saving, medically necessary health care for trans youth, and pushing medical hoaxes and rebranding so-called “conversion therapy” as an alternative. At the same time, the administration is ratcheting up immigration enforcement in ways that undermine the fundamental liberties of a free and civil society. It is not an exaggeration to say that these threats to LGBTQ+ existence are the most consequential threats we have seen in at least a generation. 
With that as the backdrop for Pride 2025, the Human Rights Campaign is ready to show up louder, prouder, and more powerful than before. Our response to these attacks cannot be retreat — it must be expansion. We must continue to live and love openly and with pride. We are not here to be tolerated or used as scapegoats for the powerful. We are here to be seen, heard and reckoned with. This moment and our fight is not about acceptance from others; it is about creating a world where LGBTQ+ people have the agency to live, love and be who we are without the government dictating what is possible. 

Our Pride 2025 theme, These Colors Don’t Run, is a rallying cry for the LGBTQ+ community as we face the challenges in front of us. We are sending a clear message to one another, and to the anti-LGBTQ+ forces in our country: We are not backing down from this fight. We will not cower in fear. Instead, we are doubling down on what we know works, because we have overcome these forces before. 

To show our community, and our opponents, that we are not going anywhere, we are growing our people power. That is why the Human Rights Campaign kicked off Pride with an exciting announcement: HRC has increased its supporter base from 3.1 million to 3.6 million supporters. As the attacks on our communities have ramped up in recent years, the LGBTQ+ community has risen to the occasion and is fighting back. From meeting with their elected officials and testifying in legislatures, to showing up in the streets and mobilizing their communities, our members and supporters are engaged in the fight for our future. 

In addition to building our people power, we must change the narrative about our community. We will define what it means to be LGBTQ+ by telling our own stories. In anticipation of the Supreme Court’s decision in the landmark case United States v. Skrmetti, we are uplifting those who know the life-saving benefits of health care for trans and gender-expansive youth best: their parents. We are reminding our neighbors of the bravery and courage of those who sacrifice to serve our country by telling the stories of trans service members and trans veterans. As the LGBTQ+ community suffers from cuts to life-saving government programs, we will amplify these service members and veterans as well as their experiences.

With 3.6 million strong and growing, we are taking action to demand equality and defend our community from attacks from the Trump administration. This Pride, we are taking action for Andry, a 31-year-old gay make-up artist and asylum seeker from Venezuela who was unjustly and illegally sent to CECOT, an El Salvadorian prison known for its human rights abuses. In coalition with Vote Save America and the Immigrant Defenders Law Center (Andry’s lawyers), we hosted “Action for Andry” in Washington, D.C., during WorldPride to bring together the LGBTQ+ community to demand Andry’s return and for his chance to present his asylum claim. This injustice against Andry is an attack on the entire LGBTQ+ community and the right to seek refuge. 

In the midst of the chaos and attacks on our fundamental freedoms, some may feel conflicted as to whether Pride can still be a celebration rather than a protest. A reminder that it has always been both. Recall what Dan Savage once said of how our community dealt with the trauma of the AIDS crisis, “During the darkest days of the AIDS crisis, we buried our friends in the mornings, we protested in the afternoon, and we danced all night. The dance kept us in the fight because it was the dance we were fighting for. It didn’t look like we were going to win then and we did. It doesn’t feel like we’re going to win now, but we could. Keep Fighting. Keep Dancing.”
This Pride, HRC invites you all to keep fighting and to keep dancing. We are reclaiming our space and taking up more of it. We are engaging our community and our allies to build people power that cannot be ignored. By the millions, the LGBTQ+ community is coming together to send a clear message: We’re here to change the story — and the system. 

Throughout Pride, we will continue to speak up against attacks on the LGBTQ+ community, whether they come from Congress, the courts, or culture. To stay up-to-date on the latest actions, visit our Equality Impact Hub. 

For many of us, the first weeks of the Trump-Vance administration have been difficult to process as Donald Trump and anti-equality elected officials work to undermine our healthcare, erase our history and destroy federal resources. However, millions of people across the country are already showing up in their communities, at their state capitols and in Washington to push back against Donald Trump’s harmful agenda.

As our movement continues to build momentum across the country, the best place to make change is in your own community. Our Equality Impact Hub provides ways to get involved nationally and in your state and community through our In Your Area page. Staying active in your local community not only helps you improve where you live, but also helps build a support system of friends and loved ones who will get you through tough times.