CNN: “In most any other year, Nashville Pride looks and feels like other Pride celebrations in major cities: There are sweaty masses of starry-eyed revelers, drinking in the infectious joy. There are floats and concerts with splashy corporate sponsorships and packed gay bars where famous drag queens and local performers share the stage. And, naturally, the city is plastered in rainbows all weekend long.
This year, though, Nashville Pride may take on new dimensions: of defiant celebration, temporary relief and renewed commitment to protecting the rights of queer and trans Tennesseans.
Nashville Pride 2023 is taking place in the middle of a challenging year for LGBTQ people, in which state legislators throughout the country have introduced a slew of anti-LGBTQ bills. In Tennessee, that includes a law that attempted to restrict where and when drag shows can be performed. (In the beginning of June, a federal judge ruled that state law unconstitutional. The law had already been temporarily blocked from going into effect earlier this year.)”