This year’s Tri-Lakes Pride festivities come as anti-LGBTQIA-plus legislation is at an all-time high in the U.S.

The Human Rights Campaign, or HRC, declared its first-ever state of emergency for LGBTQIA-plus Americans on June 6 — the first declaration of its kind in the organization’s more than 40-year history. According to the HRC, 77 anti-LGBTQIA-plus bills were signed into law from Jan. 1 to June 8, 2023. That’s more than double the number of anti-LGBTQIA-plus bills signed into law in all of 2022, which previously held the record for the most anti-LGBTQIA-plus bills passed, according to the HRC.

This month’s Tri-Lakes Pride parade — which will start at noon on Sunday, June 25 at the Saranac Lake Post Office — will be a colorful celebration of love and acceptance. But Kelly Metzgar, the executive director of the Adirondack North Country Gender Alliance, or ANCGA, also sees the parade as a form of protest against this recent sweep of anti-LGBTQIA-plus legislation. Metzgar pointed out that the origin of Pride Month was a protest: The Stonewall Riots.

The riots started on Christopher Street in New York City on June 28, 1969. The riots — a clash between police and members of the LGBTQIA-plus community that stretched over six days — were sparked by a police raid of the Stonewall gay bar in New York City.

Police raids in gay bars were common at the time, according to the Library of Congress. It was illegal to serve alcohol to gay people in New York until 1966, and in 1969, being gay was still considered a criminal offense. As a result, many gay bars served alcohol without a liquor license, and police raids of the bars and police brutality against gay people was common.

The Stonewall Riots are considered the birth of the gay liberation movement, and the first Pride march was held in New York City a year after the riots, on June 28, 1970.

“We are not going to take it,” Metzgar said of the new wave of anti-LGBTQIA-plus legislation. “We are going to make our voices heard, no matter what letter you are.”

Much of this year’s anti-LGBTQIA-plus legislation targets transgender people. More than 525 bills were introduced in 41 states from Jan. 1 to June 5, and more than 220 of these bills explicitly targeted transgender people, according to the HRC. Twenty-three states have passed laws banning transgender students from competing on sports teams aligned with their gender identity, and 20 states passed bans on gender-affirming care.

In New York, however, this type of legislation is absent. In fact, bills currently before the state legislature include one that would establish an LGBTQIA-plus youth and young adult suicide prevention task force and another that would require school districts to include instruction on political, economic, and social contributions, and “lifeways” of the LGBTQIA-plus community. In December 2022, Gov. Kathy Hochul signed a legislative package addressing healthcare disparities in the LGBTQIA-plus community.

In Saranac Lake, Metzgar said she’s always found the village to be an accepting place. She said a lot of people here have said they’re excited for the upcoming Pride parade and festival — especially the kids from the Saranac Lake Youth Center, who will be presenting a fashion show during the festival. Metzgar believes that it’s the younger generations who will be most instrumental in pushing back against anti-LGBTQIA-plus movements across the country.

“This has just gotten so far out of hand,” Metzgar said of the anti-LGBTQIA-plus legislation. “We have to push back — and Pride Month is a great month to do it.”

For more information about the HRC’s state of emergency, and to access the organization’s downloadable guidebook for LGBTQIA-plus Americans, visit tinyurl.com/td33nru5.