Last week’s World Pride March in Washington, D.C., one in a series of international Pride month events, carried an air of defiance, Suzanne Bowdey, the editorial director and senior writer for The Washington Stand, said on Washington Watch this week.
Supporters believed that a president that supports their ideology would be placed into office, she told show host Tony Perkins. Instead, President Donald Trump was elected for a second term, and he is issuing new policies that hinder the transgender movement.
“There was a real attitude, from what I read, of defiance. I think people were very concerned that they're being forgotten or marginalized a bit under this new regime with all this legislation, executive orders, et cetera,” Bowdey said.
The attendance, which was estimated to be about three million people, was roughly a third of that.
A double stabbing and a shooting that weekend made it seem, to Bowdey, just like a regular day in D.C.
If LGBTQ leaders are uncomfortable now, it may be only the start, Travis Weber, FRC’s vice president for policy and governmental affairs, told Perkins.
Is the culture changing away from LGBTQ?
Trump’s policy moves are only a start, Weber says. The U.S. seems to be having a cultural shift away from the LGBTQ movement.
“We need to not necessarily take stock only in what we're seeing come out policy-wise. We have to understand there are deeper things here, longer-term trends, cultural and spiritual trends related to this issue,” Weber said.
One of those deeper issues that Bowdey has helped shed light on is the Trevor Project, which describes itself as a suicide-prevention organization for youth apart of the LGBTQ community.
Bowdey makes a connection between consumers who unknowingly spend money on companies that still align with leftist, woke ideology and how that relates to the same companies that finance the Trevor Project.
“Now, they may see the Trevor Project that you mentioned as a youth suicide prevention organization, which is how they bill themselves… But when you dig deeper and you look under the hood at what they're actually doing and bringing to the schools, it's very dangerous, a very sinister agenda,” Bowdey says.
Bowdy details on how this organization actually goes around the law to hide information from parents regarding their children.
“Right now, they have a model school policy booklet that they're distributing to schools, thousands and thousands of schools, allies, et cetera, in that they're encouraging schools and administrators, counselors, teachers to hide information about their child's gender identity from parents,” Bowdey explains.
The Trevor Project hides behind questions meant to convince people that they are concerned about the wellbeing of the students.
Is your school LGBT affirming? Are you preventing youth suicide? Are you helping the mental health of students?
“When you look deeper into what they're advocating, it's actually pulling parents out of the process and really encouraging and affirming this trans ideology that's dangerous, as we've seen, and harmful,” Bowdey says.
Bowdey has recently released an article in The Washinton Stand that helps people see the extent to what big corporate brands have been quietly sponsoring this initiative in schools.
Macy’s, Abercrombie & Finch, Coca-Cola, Sephora, and the NFL are only a few that are giving as much as six figures or upwards to the Trevor Project. However, companies are not the only ones who are giving money to this organization.
“You'll also notice that the National Education Association (NEA), which is a teachers’ union, is funding this project to the tune of $100,000. So, money that you think is going to your union dues is actually going to trans and kids and hiding it from parents,” Bowdey reveals.
Weber points out the contrast of multiple corporations that have been backing down from supporting Pride over the past months.
“It’s interesting looking at these names. We've looked at this and how some corporations are pulling back in response to the Trump administration. But it's reported openly they're pulling back because they're concerned about their own bottom line,” Weber states.
While corporations might have publicly back down from expressing Pride sentiment, many are still supporting the LGBTQ cause from the shadows. Bowdey warns that when shopping in the month of June, some of the money these places receive from consumers will be sent to support the LGBTQ agenda.
“The one thing I would say to people is, yes, we've won a lot of victories, but people need to be very vigilant about what's happening with their dollars,” Bowdey says.
NEA standing with all teachers?
Not only do consumers need to push back against companies for LGBTQ support, but so do parents against the education system.
“I drove past their [NEA] headquarters in D.C. They were flying massive Pride flag right up there with the American flag outside the headquarters. It’s supposed to be representing teachers from around the country. Who does not agree, and who does? People need to know that's the flagship entity that's supposed to be representing the well-being of our children's education,” Weber says.
Weber ends by stating that some people go to Pride events to find a sense of belonging and meaning. Resources like Embracing God’s Design authored by FRC employees can help people and their families who conform to the transgender ideology find how to escape from it.
“They believe genuinely they're going to get it in that community, but we need to be there with God's truth when people need answers,” Weber concludes.
