‘We thought we were safe here’: what New York queer community feels ahead of America’s 250th birthday

While events celebrating America take place ahead of Fourth of July, the LGBTQ+ community faced a more complicated reality during their own month of celebrationMost people know – a 1969 protest outside the New York City gay bar the Stonewall Inn – was so historic that it changed the course of US history for queer and trans rights. But as America celebrates its 250th anniversary, queer and trans people are watching things go backwards into a more repressive era.Attacks from federal and state governments marred a month of celebration, including in states with explicitly pro-LGBTQ+ elected officials and policies in place. And as other communities face attacks – whether through ICE’s deportation campaign or repression against protesters exercising the first amendment in speaking out against it – the American history LGBTQ+ people seem to be holding up most is one of protest and riot, a legacy that traces back to the country’s founding.