An LGBTQ+ group in Texas has canceled its 2026 Pride celebration after the city it's based in rescinded antidiscrimination protections.
Arlington Pride, hosted by the HELP Center for LGBTQ+ Health, announced Friday that it is suspending next year's event in light of the City Council's recent vote to remove “gender identity and expression” and “sexual orientation” as protected characteristics from the local antidiscrimination ordinance. CEO DeeJay Johannessen said that the decision was made in the name of safety.
"We cannot in good conscience invite attendees to an event in a city that refuses to provide even the most basic protections," Johannessen said in a statement. "Pride is about safety, celebration, and community. Without local anti-discrimination safeguards, we cannot guarantee those values for our attendees, performers, or patrons."
Related: Texas city votes to overturn LGBTQ+ antidiscrimination protections
The clause had been temporarily suspended since August due to threats from Donald Trump's administration. Mayor Jim Ross joined council members Nikkie Hunter, Barbara Odom-Wesley, and Andrew Piel in voting in favor of reinstating the ordinance, but the council ultimately voted 5-4 to permanently repeal it.
The rule previously shielded LGBTQ+ people against “any direct or indirect exclusion, distinction, segregation, limitation, refusal, denial, or other differentiation in the treatment of a person or persons" in employment, housing, health care, and beyond.
Trump officials threatened in August to revoke $65 million in federal grant money from the city if it did not remove language related to diversity, equity, and inclusion from its municipal code. Both Arlington and Fort Worth subsequently voted to end their DEI programs and rewrite ordinances to exclude phrases related to race and gender.
"By refusing to reinstate the Anti-Discrimination Chapter, these council members knowingly continued to deny all local protections against discrimination in employment, housing, and public accommodations for everyone in our city," a spokesperson for the HELP Center said following the vote. "Every Arlington resident, visitor and worker is now more vulnerable because of this vote."
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