Hundreds gathered on Sunday, March 23 in Dallas, Texas to join the March for Queer & Trans Liberation

Hundreds gathered on Sunday, March 23 in Dallas, Texas to join the March for Queer & Trans Liberation, which was organised by a coalition of more than 20 local organisations and was held in response to the ongoing wave of anti-LGBTQ legislation and policies in the United States.

Jacob Reyes, the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Discrimination’s representative in Texas and communications director for Texas Latino Pride, noted that he organised the march as a response to the wave of anti-LGBTQ laws, policies and orders being put into place across the country and across Texas.

“This year, there have been 205 anti-LGBTQ bills introduced in the Texas Legislature,” Reyes said. “As a community, we must respond. It sounds very simple, but we want to get people out of the bars and into the streets. We want to get them involved as part of this larger movement.

“The Queer & Trans Liberation March sends a message to all in Dallas and across Texas that when we stand up and show up for our communities, we move closer to reclaiming justice.”

Speakers included Texas-based drag artist and Emmy Award-winner Lushious Massacr, trans activist Stacey Monroe and Impulse Dallas President Ressie Gamble, among others.

“We will continue to celebrate and express our queer joy,” Reyes added. “But we will also organise. We will mobilise, and we will push back against any and all of the transphobia and homophobia we see coming not just from the White House and the Texas Legislature, but from all across this state and this country.”