Stonewall Columbus is gearing up for the annual Columbus Pride Festival and March later this week.
The celebrations come amid increased anti-LGBTQ rhetoric and a flurry of anti-gay and anti-trans legislation sweeping through Ohio and several other states.
Densil Porteous, Executive Director of Stonewall Columbus, tells WOSU the rhetoric is nothing new.
"No one in the community is actually surprised that people are saying these things. The surprise is that it's getting so much attention. The surprise is that so many people are now in this fight, in this moment, saying, 'Oh, wow, what is going on?'" Porteous said.
Some companies have been receiving backlash for their decision. Bud Light took tons of criticism for partnering with a trans influencer.
Target recently pulled some items out of their Pride Collection and moved displays away from the front of their stores—a move seen by some in the LGBTQ community as "giving in" to conservative critics.
Related: Landlord asks Westerville businesses not to display LGBTQ+ signage, citing Catholic beliefs
U.S. Senator J.D. Vance said on Twitter that Target “decided to wage war” on a large share of its customer base and that he would no longer shop at the store. But Porteous said Vance's comments are "disheartening" and inappropriate.
"Target made a decision. They did what they did. The community can say we agree or we don't agree. But I think when someone who is in such a position of power and influence starts to fan the flames as he has, it becomes a more politicized moment than any real social opportunity to make a difference," Porteous said.
Columbus Pride relies on support from several local corporate sponsors. But rather than those partners getting cold feet, Porteous said they've seen an increase in sponsor support this year.
"I think a lot of our corporate partners understand that we are in difficult political times, that the work that we are doing as an LGBTQ nonprofit, making space for queer community is under attack. And so we're seeing actually a lot of our corporate partners step up in ways they have never done before," Porteous said.
This year's celebrations will be much like those in previous years, although Porteous said the footprint of the festival will be slightly larger. Also new this year are more elements to improve accessibility for differently-abled community members.
"And I think the largest sort of changes we we're going to see are more people this year at the march. We have about 17,000 marchers registered. So that's pretty exciting for us, and we're thankful that the community's coming out in such force to support," he said.
The Columbus Pride Festival and Resource Fair is scheduled for this Friday and Saturday at Goodale Park.
