Rally for LGBTQ+ rights to convene at historic site in Washington

By Daniel Trotta

WASHINGTON (Reuters) -LGBTQ+ people will gather on Sunday at the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, site of Martin Luther King’s 1963 “I Have a Dream” speech, for a political rally aimed at preserving decades of progress while protesting setbacks under President Donald Trump.

After the festive nature of a parade on Saturday through the streets of the capital, the political demonstration may be the main event of the weeks-long WorldPride celebration, which moves around the globe every two years. It occurs in Washington at a time of high tension over LGBTQ+ rights in the U.S.

Speakers are certain to rail against Trump, who has issued executive orders limiting transgender rights, banned transgender people from serving in the armed forces and rescinded anti-discrimination policies for LGBTQ+ people.

The White House has defended its dismantling of diversity, equity and inclusion programs, calling DEI a form of discrimination, and said its transgender policy protects women by keeping transgender women out of shared spaces.

The Trump administration has also touted its appointment of a number of openly gay people to cabinet posts and judgeships as evidence that Trump aims to serve all Americans.

Before the main rally, transgender supporters will hold their own march to protest Trump’s rhetoric and myriad state laws around the country that ban transgender healthcare services for minors. Backers of those laws say they are attempting to protect minors from starting on a path they may later regret.

The transgender rally will march from the offices of the Human Rights Campaign, the largest LGBTQ+ organization in the U.S., toward the Lincoln Memorial, which is considered hallowed ground in the U.S. civil rights movement as the site of the King speech and the March on Washington that preceded historic legislation such as the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965.

(Reporting by Daniel Trotta; Editing by William Mallard)