In US, Pride Month festivities muted by political setbacks

FILE - In this March 15, 2021, file photo, demonstrators gather on the steps of the Montana State Capitol protesting anti-LGBTQ+ legislation in Helena, Mont. Gov. Greg Gianforte signed a bill Friday, May 7, 2021, banning transgender athletes from participating in school and university sports according to the gender with which they identify, making Montana one of several Republican-controlled states to approve such measures in 2021. (Thom Bridge/Independent Record via AP, File)=MTHEL

FILE - In this Wednesday, April 14, 2021 file photo, members of the Olsen and Thorell family hold pride flags during a rally in support of LGBTQ students at Ridgeline High School in Millville, Utah. Students and school district officials in Utah are outraged after a high school student ripped down a pride flag to the cheers of other students during diversity week. A rally was held the following day in response to show support for the LGBTQ community. (Eli Lucero/The Herald Journal via AP, File)/The Herald Journal via AP)

FILE - In this Wednesday, May 26, 2021 file photo, Maddy Niebauer and her 10-year-old transgender son, Julian, from Middleton, Wis., take part in a rally for transgender rights at the Capitol in Madison, Wis. Republicans who control the state Legislature are holding hearings Wednesday on legislation that would ban transgender athletes from competing in girls' and women's school sports — a proposal opposed by nearly 20 groups, including the statewide body that oversees high school sports. (Mark Hoffman/Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel via AP, File)=WIMIL

FILE - In this Thursday, Feb. 25, 2021 file photo, Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., walks to a news conference as the Democratic-led House prepares to pass a bill that enshrines protections in the nation's labor and civil rights laws for LGBTQ people, a top priority of President Joe Biden, at the Capitol in Washington. It probably needs at least 10 Republican votes to prevail in the closely divided Senate – and as of early June 2021 has no GOP co-sponsors. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite, File)

FILE - In this Thursday, May 20, 2021 file photo, demonstrators gather on the steps to the State Capitol to speak against transgender-related legislation bills being considered in the Texas Senate and Texas House in Austin, Texas. Pride Month celebrations in the U.S. are taking place under unusual circumstances in June 2021, with pandemic-related concerns disrupting many of the usual festivities and political setbacks dampening the mood of LGBTQ-rights activists. (AP Photo/Eric Gay, File)

FILE - In this Tuesday, March 2, 2021 file photo, protestors in support of transgender rights march around the Alabama State House in Montgomery, Ala. Pride Month celebrations in the U.S. are taking place under unusual circumstances in June 2021, with pandemic-related concerns disrupting many of the usual festivities and political setbacks dampening the mood of LGBTQ-rights activists. (Jake Crandall//The Montgomery Advertiser via AP, File)=ALMON

FILE - In this Friday, May 21, 2021 file photo, Amy Allen, the mother of an eighth grade transgender son, speaks at a Human Rights Campaign round table discussion on anti-transgender laws, in Nashville, Tenn. Allen says her family is dismayed by the multiple anti-trans bills winning approval in Tennessee – including one exposing public schools to lawsuits if they let transgender students use multi-person bathrooms or locker rooms that don't reflect their sex at birth. At left is Chris Sanders, Tennessee Equality Project executive director. (AP Photo/Mark Humphrey, File)

FILE - In this Thursday, March 4, 2021. file photo, a group of people, including many BYU students shine Pride colors on the Y on the mountain above BYU in Provo, Utah. Students at Brigham Young University illuminated the letter "Y" on a mountain overlooking the Provo campus on Thursday with rainbow colors in a display meant to send a message to the religious school. (Trent Nelson/The Salt Lake Tribune via AP, File)