San Francisco Pride Executive Director Suzanne Ford and her team are reviewing security measures for Pride in the city for 2025 due to greater threats to the LGBTQ+ community, and especially to transgender individuals, resulting after the executive orders and rhetoric of the Trump administration so far this year.
In the prior issue of the San Francisco Bay Times, Ford, who identifies as transgender, shared: “Our trans community faces 4 years of persecution. No one is coming to rescue us. Many people have contacted me over the last week to ask if we are ok. Hell, no, we are not ok! It feels like we have nowhere to turn. Just walking through an airport this week felt unsafe. The normal glares are enough, however, now they seem to carry more malice. Will trans women be dragged out of bathrooms as people stand by quietly? Will politicians stop supporting us when faced with a federal government that holds the purse strings? Will the media tell our stories, or just sensationalize the victimhood?”
In recent days, she has done interviews with other media outlets and has mentioned the need to review SF Pride’s security measures. For example, she told Tara Campbell of ABC7 News, “I expect people are going to be emboldened and we are going to encounter more threats this year. We are going to take out our security plans and make sure there aren’t some things we need to tighten up a bit and also we’re going to look at increasing costs because we will have to be looking at increased security at these events.”
She added, “I think for the two days (for the 2024 Pride Parade and Festival) we spent $3.2 million and $635,000 of that last year was for security.”
The increased hostility fueled by anti-LGBTQ+ actions and statements by President Trump and some of his followers is not limited to Republican strongholds. As Ford said, “I’ve done several interviews in the past weeks and the comments are really running badly against us, even in the Bay Area.”
This sentiment was also reflected in a statement by Jorge Reyes Salinas, Communications Director for Equality California.
He told ABC7, “Everyone unfortunately feels like they have a target on their back,” adding that some members of his team received death threats last year. “It’s scary at times, we do have higher demands of ensuring security that our staff is also safe, ensuring that our information is safe.”
Ford has also received death threats, but is characteristically stoic and determined. Her wife and son, however, remain worried. Ford is still forging ahead with plans for this year’s Pride Parade and Festival. She said, “I’m going to walk down Market Street in the front of the parade and make every appearance I can so that people put a face to trans people.”
As it stands, here are the security policies of SF Pride: https://sfpride.org/safety/
The San Francisco Police Department also has a page on its website for Pride Safety Tips: https://bit.ly/40SnsUv
When information is clarified about the changes to SF Pride security measures, we will share that news in the San Francisco Bay Times.
Published on February 13, 2025
Recent Comments