Protestors threatened to ruin this Idaho county’s first Pride, but the community came together

This is the 2019 Pride Parade in Boise, Idaho. Members of the parade hold the LGBT flag.
Photo: Wikimedia Commons

When Tom Wheeler set out to help organize Canyon County, Idaho’s first Pride event, he envisioned a small picnic in a park in Nampa, where he volunteers at an LGBTQ+ drop-in center. It would be a small event open to everyone.

But Canyon County’s first Pride was not small and had 700 feet of six-foot-tall metal fencing and a police barricade. The event drew a crowd of thousands of people and featured food trucks, drag entertainers, and a stage.

It was also highly controversial, the mayor of Nampa said that Pride events conflicted with her beliefs, and residents of Nampa said it should be protested.

Though it was never completely safe to be a gay person in the United States, the Obama-era optimism of marriage equality and Pride Celebrations as parties are gone. Thanks to rising homophobia and transphobia, Pride events are now commonly threatened and protested. There have been 1,800 anti-LGBTQ+ bills introduced nationwide, and…

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