by J. Holly McCall, Tennessee Lookout
June 29, 2025

A two-day celebration of LGBTQ+ pride and culture drew thousands of attendees to downtown Nashville on Saturday despite heat and an afternoon storm delay.

Area officials marched in the parade down Broadway including Nashville Mayor Freddie O’Connell, State Rep. Aftyn Behn, a Nashville Democrat, and a contingent of Metro Nashville Councilmembers. O’Connell and supporters wore shirts with the words, “Choose How You Love” — a play on the name of O’Connell’s transit program, “Choose How You Move.”

The festival portion of the event, held at Bicentennial Capitol Mall State Park, took a several-hour hiatus mid-afternoon as a thunderstorm spurred a “shelter in place” order.

This year’s event comes amid increased targeting of the LGBTQ+ community  by President Donald Trump. On Thursday, Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth confirmed the U.S.S. Harvey Milk — named for assassinated political leader, LGBTQ+ rights champion and Korean War Veteran — would be named the U.S.S. Oscar Peterson, for a Medal of Honor winner who died in World War II. Among other anti-LGBTQ+ actions, Trump has also prohibited transgender people from serving in the military.

Pride was first celebrated in the aftermath of the 1969 Stonewall Riots, in which patrons of a New York bar and drag queens fought against police who had raided the Stonewall Inn because of its same-sex clientele. Nashville held its first Pride celebration in 1989.

The festival will also be held Sunday.

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Note: The following A.I. based commentary is not part of the original article, reproduced above, but is offered in the hopes that it will promote greater media literacy and critical thinking, by making any potential bias more visible to the reader –Staff Editor.

Political Bias Rating: Center-Left

This content presents a generally positive coverage of an LGBTQ+ Pride event in Nashville, highlighting inclusive themes and participation by Democratic politicians and local officials. It critiques specific actions of the Trump administration related to LGBTQ+ rights, such as military policy changes, which places it in opposition to certain conservative policies. The framing and focus on LGBTQ+ advocacy, coupled with the acknowledgment of opposition from right-wing figures, indicate a center-left bias that supports progressive social values without radical language or exclusion of opposing views.