LGBTQ Pride Month kicks off with protests, parades, parties

Jim Obergefell, the named plaintiff in the Obergefell v. Hodges Supreme Court case that legalized same sex marriage nationwide, arrives for a news conference on the steps of the Texas Capitol, June 29, 2015, in Austin, Texas. The start of June marks the beginning of Pride month around the U.S. and some parts of the world, celebrating the lives and experiences of LGBTQ+ communities as well as raising awareness about ongoing struggles and pushing back against efforts to roll back civil rights gains that have been made. (AP Photo/Eric Gay, File)

The start of June marks the beginning of Pride Month around the U.S. and some parts of the world, a season to celebrate the lives and experiences of LGBTQ communities and to protest against recent attacks on hard-won civil rights gains.

This year’s Pride takes place in a contentious political climate in which some state legislators have sought to ban drag shows, prohibit gender-affirming care and limit how teachers can talk about sexuality and gender in the classroom.

Events have been disrupted. Performers have been harassed. And in Colorado in November, five people were killed and several injured when a gunman shot them inside a gay nightclub.