Pride Isn’t Safe in Project 2025’s America
June 27, 2025
As Pride Month draws to a close, the rainbows fade from storefronts, social feeds, and ad campaigns. But for millions of LGBTQ+ Americans, the fight for safety, dignity, and autonomy doesn’t end on July 1st. In fact, it’s never been more urgent.
This year, something was different. Pride felt quieter. Corporate brands—once loud allies in June—were notably subdued. Gone were many of the declarations of support, replaced by silence or vague inclusivity language. This shift isn’t accidental. It reflects a coordinated, nationwide backlash—fueled by fear, political pressure, and the deliberate dismantling of diversity infrastructure.
At the center of this effort is Project 2025, a sweeping policy blueprint backed by Trump-aligned conservatives. Its goal: consolidate executive power, erase civil rights gains, and implement a Christian nationalist agenda across federal agencies. LGBTQ+ Americans, along with women, immigrants, and BIPOC communities, are directly in its path.
Here’s what that looks like:
Erasing LGBTQ+ research and representation: Federal agencies have begun quietly halting funding for studies that include terms like “diversity,” “bisexual,” “LGBTQ+,” “transgender,” and “women.” The result? Vital research on health disparities, mental health, housing, and economic inequality is being cut off at the source—silencing the data that proves these communities exist and need support.
Defunding DEI efforts: From public schools to government agencies, diversity, equity, and inclusion programs are under political siege. Project 2025 explicitly calls for eliminating all DEI offices and ending requirements to track or report discriminatory practices.
Undermining LGBTQ+ families and youth: The plan endorses the expansion of anti-trans laws, the surveillance of queer parents, the banning of inclusive books, and the removal of gender-affirming care protections nationwide.
Weaponizing “religious freedom” as a license to discriminate: Under Project 2025, religious institutions and individuals would gain sweeping power to deny LGBTQ+ people access to healthcare, employment, housing, and public services.
This isn’t a theoretical threat. It’s a concrete, coordinated strategy. And it’s working.
At Exit Project 2025, we’re seeing more queer Americans exploring relocation—not out of fear alone, but out of a powerful desire to live with freedom, safety, and dignity. Countries like Portugal, the Netherlands, Canada, and New Zealand provide protections, inclusive policies, and health systems that affirm—not erase—queer lives.
Pride isn’t just a party. It’s a protest. And increasingly, for many LGBTQ+ Americans, it’s a passport.
Until the U.S. can offer more than performative support once a year, we’ll continue to help people find it elsewhere—year round, and for real.