Pride With Purpose Is Not Surrendering to the Left
Written by Peter Boykin on June 15, 2026
Pride With Purpose Is Not Surrendering to the Left
#GoRightNews Shared by Peter Boykin
American Political Commentator / Citizen Journalist / Activist / Constitutionalist for Liberty
Pride With Purpose Is Not Surrendering to the Left
If Gay Republicans Want Pride to Change, We Have to Show Up
By Peter Boykin
GoRightNews.com | GaysForLiberty.org
Opinion
Winston-Salem Pride offered a reminder that too many people on the right need to hear: Pride is not always the cartoon version its loudest critics keep selling.
In downtown Winston-Salem, Pride looked like a community festival. There were booths, churches, local organizations, food trucks, vendors, entertainers, services, rainbow flags, and ordinary people walking around peacefully. It was not the nightmare image that gets passed around online every June by people looking for the worst photo, the strangest person, or the most extreme moment they can find.
That matters because too many gay Republicans and right-leaning gay Americans have allowed opponents of Pride to define what Pride is.
They see the Progress Pride flag, which many of us do not agree with. They see left-wing activism. They see extreme voices claiming to speak for everyone. Then they make the mistake of throwing away the whole gay community because of a few people they do not like.
That is not courage. That is surrender.
Pride still matters because discrimination did not disappear when marriage equality became law. The ability for gay Americans to marry was a major victory, but it did not erase decades of rejection, political targeting, cultural hostility, family abandonment, church condemnation, workplace fear, or public shame. Pride exists because for a long time many gay Americans were told to stay hidden, stay quiet, and stay grateful for whatever scraps of tolerance they were given.
That is why visibility matters.
Pride is not supposed to belong to the left. Pride is not supposed to be a political cash machine. Pride is not supposed to be a competition of flags, labels, or activist demands. At its best, Pride is about remembrance, visibility, dignity, equal rights, and community.
And if we believe that, then we cannot spend every June complaining from the sidelines while Democrats, progressives, activists, and the media define the entire conversation.
Republicans understand factions when it comes to our own party. We separate MAGA from establishment Republicans. We separate America First from globalist Republicans. We separate Trump loyalists from party loyalists. We throw around words like RINO every day. We know not everyone in a movement thinks the same way.
So why do some people refuse to apply that same logic to the gay community?
Why is the entire gay community blamed for the most extreme examples? Why are gay men and lesbians expected to answer for every activist, every flag, every protest sign, every corporate campaign, every left-wing politician, and every bad decision made in a major city parade?
That standard is dishonest.
Yes, there are problems inside modern Pride culture. There are events that have gone too far. There are activists who have turned what should be a civil rights remembrance into a political circus. There are things that do not belong around children. There are public displays that hurt the message more than they help it. Conservatives are not wrong to call that out.
But calling out excess is not the same as condemning an entire community.
The media does this all the time. They find the most extreme example and pretend it represents everyone. The anti-gay right does the same thing with Pride. They find the weirdest photo, the most offensive clip, or the most outrageous activist and use it to smear every gay person who simply wants to live openly and equally.
We should know better than to fall for that.
Here in North Carolina, local Pride events often look far more normal than the online outrage machine wants people to believe. Winston-Salem Pride was a public community event, not a street riot. It included services, churches, nonprofits, booths, entertainment, and people gathering peacefully.
And yes, there were Democrat booths.
That should bother gay Republicans, but not for the reason some think. It should bother us because Republicans should be there too.
If we want Pride to be different, we have to show up. If we want gay Americans to understand that they do not have to belong to the left, we have to show up. If we want the Republican Party to stop pushing away gay voters by default, we have to show up.
You cannot change a space you refuse to enter.
Too many gay conservatives want Pride to return to its original purpose while doing nothing to help reclaim it. They want to complain about left-wing dominance, but they will not build a right-leaning alternative. They want to criticize the Democrat booth, but they will not organize a Republican one. They want the community to change, but they are afraid to be seen standing in the middle of it.
That is not strategy. That is retreat.
Being gay and Republican should not be treated like a contradiction. Being conservative does not require you to accept anti-gay politics. Supporting equal rights does not make you woke. Defending marriage equality does not make you a RINO. Believing in the Constitution means defending liberty even when your own side finds it inconvenient.
That includes calling out people within our own party when they are wrong.
Republicans get many things right. The party is better on many issues, including free speech, taxes, border security, parental rights, public safety, and constitutional government. But when parts of the party treat gay Americans like a liability, a punchline, or a group that should quietly disappear, they are not defending conservatism. They are pushing voters away.
That is one reason unaffiliated voters continue to grow. Many Americans are tired of being forced into political corners. They are tired of Democrat extremism and Republican hostility. They are tired of being told they must either accept everything the left does or excuse everything the right does.
There is another path.
Gays For Liberty exists because the left does not own gay Americans, and the right should not reject us.
We can reject woke activism without becoming anti-gay. We can support Pride with purpose without defending every bad example. We can stand for marriage equality, religious liberty, free speech, parental rights, and constitutional government at the same time.
Showing Up Is How We Change It
The Go Right with Peter Boykin Perspective
If you do not want to attend Pride, that is your choice. This is America. Nobody should be forced to celebrate anything they do not believe in. But there is a difference between choosing not to attend and attacking the people who do.
Every June, too many people act like Pride itself is the enemy. They say they want it to go back to what it was, but they spend the whole month helping the worst voices define it. They hand the left full control of the space, then complain that the space is controlled by the left.
That makes no sense.
If gay Republicans want the community to change, then we have to be brave enough to be visible. We have to build booths, attend local events, speak to people, offer a better message, and remind gay Americans that their only political option is not the Democrat Party.
We also have to be honest enough to tell our own side when it is wrong. Anti-gay rhetoric is not conservative. Scapegoating is not leadership. Pretending every gay person is responsible for every activist is not truth. It is lazy politics.
Pride began because people wanted to live openly, safely, and equally. That still matters. Marriage equality matters. Visibility matters. The Constitution matters. Liberty matters.
Pride does not have to be surrendered to the left.
But if we want it back, we have to stop running from it.
Pride with purpose is not surrendering to the left. This article argues that gay Republicans and right-leaning gay Americans should stop letting the media, Democrats, and anti-gay voices define Pride for them. Using Winston-Salem Pride as a local example, Peter Boykin explains that Pride can still be about remembrance, visibility, marriage equality, constitutional liberty, and showing up instead of retreating.
#GoRightNews, #GaysForLiberty, #PeterBoykin, #GoRight, #PrideWithPurpose, #PrideMonth, #WinstonSalemPride, #NorthCarolina, #GayRepublican, #GayConservative, #MarriageEquality, #EqualRights, #ConstitutionalLiberty, #LGBTQ, #GaysForTrump, #DontTreadOnUs
Sources
City of Winston-Salem confirms the Pride Winston-Salem Festival was scheduled for June 13, 2026, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., centered around Fifth Street at Trade Street, and listed as a free public event. (City of Winston-Salem)
City of Winston-Salem also lists the Pride Winston-Salem Parade as beginning at 11 a.m. on Fourth Street at Spring Street. (City of Winston-Salem)
WFDD reported that Winston-Salem Pride included more than 200 vendors, 21 food trucks, entertainers, musicians, and local drag performers, with Pride Winston-Salem President Kandi Villano saying the goal was for attendees to feel protected, supported, and celebrated. (88.5 WFDD)
Visit Winston-Salem describes Pride WS as a downtown parade and festival with live music, entertainment, street vendors, hands-on activities, food trucks, and festival vendors, celebrating love, unity, and equal rights. (Visit Winston Salem)
Pride Winston-Salem states its mission is to celebrate culture, honor diversity, inspire engagement, promote inclusion, provide community outreach, and educate friends, allies, and supporters on equal rights for all. (pridews.org)
Oyez summarizes Obergefell v. Hodges as the Supreme Court case holding that the Fourteenth Amendment requires states to license and recognize same-sex marriage. ({{meta.siteName}})
GovInfo lists Public Law 117-228, the Respect for Marriage Act, as the law repealing the Defense of Marriage Act and ensuring respect for state regulation of marriage. (GovInfo)
Carolina Public Press reported in January 2026 that unaffiliated voters made up about 39% of North Carolina voter registrations, larger than either major party. (Carolina Public Press)
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