Pride in Houston is a bit different this year. It’s also coming amid a public fight over LGBTQ+ rights
This year’s Pride parade and festival, scheduled for Saturday, comes after increased state-level scrutiny over LGBTQ+ Texans as well as the controversial removal of rainbow crosswalks in Montrose.
Rob Salinas/Houston Public Media
A participant in the 2024 Pride Houston Parade holds up a sign.
For the first time in nearly half a century, Houston's LGBTQ+ Pride parade will be earlier in June, rather than at the end of the month. It's also coming on the heels of a very public fight over one of Houston's iconic LGBTQ+ landmarks and other crackdowns on representation and rights.
Saturday’s Pride parade and festival, which was bumped up to accommodate the city's busy schedule during the 2026 FIFA World Cup, is the first since the removal of rainbow crosswalks in the Montrose neighborhood last fall. Following a state directive, the Metropolitan Transit Authority of Harris County (METRO) removed the crosswalks at the intersection of Westheimer Road and Taft Street, dividing the community.
In the Texas legislature last fall, lawmakers also approved legislation that restricts which public restrooms transgender men and women can use, which Gov. Greg Abbott signed into law, capping a yearslong legislative battle over the so-called "bathroom bill."
"There were some years where it felt like maybe we'd done the thing, we'd got into the promised land," said Avery Belyeu, CEO of The Montrose Center. "And some people may have felt that. We never really truly did. And I think this moment is a thing that catalyzes us, reminds us that we have to be in this fight together."
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Source : https://www.houstonpublicmedia.org/articles/lgbtq/2026/06/03/553574/pride-houston-parade-2026-lgbtq-rights/?utm_source=rss-lgbtq-article&utm_medium=li