Pride and protest

Laramie's LGBTQ+ community gathered for events scheduled across a busy two weeks. Ahead of Pride in the Park Saturday, Laramigos also hosted a "No Kings" protest.

Pride Month might run for the entire month of June, but Laramie’s PrideFest celebrations concluded Sunday night with a Candlelight Vigil honoring Matthew Shepard. It was a vigil that called to mind the countless other lives lost as casualties to anti-LGBTQ+ violence and discriminatory government policies.

This year’s Laramie PrideFest — which just concluded its ninth year — came just weeks before a spate of new anti-trans laws are set to effect on July 1.

This year’s Pride Month celebrations also came amid a tense national atmosphere. Immigration raids in Los Angeles targeting workplaces, spurred by the Trump Administration’s accelerating deportation regime, have inspired widespread protests in LA and across the country.

On Saturday, just before Laramie’s Pride in the Park, the city played host to a “No Kings” protest — planned to coincide with a military parade in Washington, D.C. and carried out in solidarity with more than 2,000 similar demonstrations across the U.S.

As Laramigos were setting up booths in the park, or gathering at the Albany County Courthouse for the protest, violence erupted in several other locales, including the apparent assassination of a Democratic state lawmaker in Minnesota and the attempted assassination of another. There were vehicular attacks against “No Kings” protestors in Culpeper, Virginia and San Francisco as well as a shooting in Salt Lake City.

Laramie’s protests were peaceful, although some pickup trucks “coal-rolled” protestors, blanketing them in exhaust smoke. These included at least one truck that had done the same during a previous protest — a red Ram 2500 with Oregon license plate 678 KGU.

The same red truck that coal-rolled protestors in April (above) returned Saturday (below), coal-rolling protestors once more. // Photos: Jeff Victor

At other points, protestors were answered by shouts and middle fingers from passing cars — though supportive honks appeared to be more common.

Both the protest and Pride in the Park drew hundreds. The Laramie Reporter was there for much of it, witnessing and documenting a unique historical moment. Amid so much turmoil, this year’s schedule urged attendees to imagine a better, more free and queer future.

Laramie PrideFest’s official accounts posted photos of additional events, from drag shows to storytelling nights.

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Laramie Mayor Sharon Cumbie reads the city’s Pride Month Proclamation during an event at First Street Plaza May 31.

Attendees add colorful images and positive messages to the sidewalk during an event at First Street Plaza May 31.

Laramie City Councilor Melanie Vigil, a member of the LGBTQ+ community and longtime advocate for LGBTQ+ rights, reads the city’s Pride Month proclamation June 3 at City Hall. As a private citizen, Vigil helped to pass Laramie’s non-discrimination ordinance in 2015 — the first comprehensive non-discrimination ordinance in Wyoming.

“No one is illegal on stolen land” reads a sign during the “No Kings” protest Saturday.

Protestors wait to cross Grand Avenue as they march from the Albany County Courthouse to Washington Park during the “No Kings” protest Saturday.

“Sic Semper Tyrannis” reads a sign during the “No Kings” protest Saturday.

“No Kings!!” reads a sign during the protest Saturday.

Protestors wait to cross the street, signs held high, as they march from the courthouse to the park during the “No Kings” protest Saturday.

The Laramie Reporter tables during Pride in the Park Saturday.

An attendee listens to a speaker during the Mathew Shepard Candlelight Vigil Sunday. Shepard, a gay University of Wyoming student, was brutally tortured and murdered in Laramie in 1998. The act of hate brought a global spotlight to Laramie and ultimately helped to advance greater tolerance in Laramie and beyond.

Rev. Mark Lee of St. Paul’s United Church of Christ addresses attendees at the Mathew Shepard Candlelight Vigil Sunday. He said the murder of Matthew Shepard, like the current struggle for transgender rights in Wyoming, is a “divine moment” “full of pain and wonder.”

Vigil attendees added flowers and pride flags to the Matthew Shepard Memorial Bench — UW’s only physical memorial to the student whose murder galvanized a nationwide push for equality.

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