Less than two years ago I sat across from Antony J. Blinken as he spoke proudly of the work the State Department was doing to combat discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity around the globe. It was Pride 2022, and the secretary of State hosted a small group of out LGBTQ+ journalists at the department for a roundtable discussion.
“When I raise human rights issues, when I raise democracy issues, I often say to the people what we’re dealing with: It’s not exactly a secret that we have our own challenges that we’re working through at home,” he said. “We’re not trying to sweep the problem or the issue under the rug.”
The truth is we can’t sweep “the problem” under the rug. It is so omnipresent that even in the $1.2 trillion spending deal President Joe Biden signed over the weekend, America’s conflict over LGBTQ+ people pulled focus. With famine in Gaza, with a migrant crisis on our own Southern border, Republicans still made time to target queer people.
When Blinken held his symposium, the rainbow flag flew over U.S. embassies around the world to mark Pride Month.
No more.