{"id":18108,"date":"2017-06-18T01:28:17","date_gmt":"2017-06-18T07:28:17","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/lastbestnews.com\/site\/?p=18108"},"modified":"2017-06-18T06:18:15","modified_gmt":"2017-06-18T12:18:15","slug":"big-sky-pride-finds-magic-in-billings","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/montana-mint.com\/lastbestnews\/2017\/06\/big-sky-pride-finds-magic-in-billings\/","title":{"rendered":"Big Sky Pride finds magic in Billings"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\t\t\t<div id=\"slides-18108\" class=\"navis-slideshow\">\n\t\t\t<p class=\"slide-nav\">\n\n\t\t\t<a href=\"#\" class=\"prev\"><\/a>\n\t\t\t<a href=\"#\" class=\"next\"><\/a>\n\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\n\t\t\t<div class=\"slides_container\"><div id=\"18108-slide1\"><a href=\"https:\/\/montana-mint.com\/lastbestnews\/wp-content\/uploads\/IMG_6070_small.jpg\" target=\"_blank\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/montana-mint.com\/lastbestnews\/wp-content\/uploads\/IMG_6070_small-771x381.jpg\" \/><\/a><h6>James Larson <a href=\"#\" class=\"slide-permalink\">permalink<\/a><\/h6><p>Flag bearers kick of the Big Sky Pride parade on Saturday in Billings.<\/p><\/div><div id=\"18108-slide2\"><a href=\"https:\/\/montana-mint.com\/lastbestnews\/wp-content\/uploads\/IMG_6063_771.jpg\" target=\"_blank\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/montana-mint.com\/lastbestnews\/wp-content\/uploads\/IMG_6063_771-771x481.jpg\" \/><\/a><h6>James Larson <a href=\"#\" class=\"slide-permalink\">permalink<\/a><\/h6><p><\/p><\/div><div id=\"18108-slide3\" data-src=\"https:\/\/montana-mint.com\/lastbestnews\/wp-content\/uploads\/IMG_6066_771-771x515.jpg*771*515\" data-href=\"https:\/\/montana-mint.com\/lastbestnews\/wp-content\/uploads\/IMG_6066_771.jpg\" \/><h6>James Larson <a href=\"#\" class=\"slide-permalink\">permalink<\/a><\/h6><p><\/p><\/div><div id=\"18108-slide4\" data-src=\"https:\/\/montana-mint.com\/lastbestnews\/wp-content\/uploads\/IMG_6086_small-771x715.jpg*771*715\" data-href=\"https:\/\/montana-mint.com\/lastbestnews\/wp-content\/uploads\/IMG_6086_small.jpg\" \/><h6>James Larson <a href=\"#\" class=\"slide-permalink\">permalink<\/a><\/h6><p><\/p><\/div><div id=\"18108-slide5\" data-src=\"https:\/\/montana-mint.com\/lastbestnews\/wp-content\/uploads\/IMG_6094_small-771x514.jpg*771*514\" data-href=\"https:\/\/montana-mint.com\/lastbestnews\/wp-content\/uploads\/IMG_6094_small.jpg\" \/><h6>James Larson <a href=\"#\" class=\"slide-permalink\">permalink<\/a><\/h6><p><\/p><\/div><div id=\"18108-slide6\" data-src=\"https:\/\/montana-mint.com\/lastbestnews\/wp-content\/uploads\/IMG_6099_small-771x514.jpg*771*514\" data-href=\"https:\/\/montana-mint.com\/lastbestnews\/wp-content\/uploads\/IMG_6099_small.jpg\" \/><h6>James Larson <a href=\"#\" class=\"slide-permalink\">permalink<\/a><\/h6><p><\/p><\/div><div id=\"18108-slide7\" data-src=\"https:\/\/montana-mint.com\/lastbestnews\/wp-content\/uploads\/IMG_6113_small-771x679.jpg*771*679\" data-href=\"https:\/\/montana-mint.com\/lastbestnews\/wp-content\/uploads\/IMG_6113_small.jpg\" \/><h6>James Larson <a href=\"#\" class=\"slide-permalink\">permalink<\/a><\/h6><p><\/p><\/div><div id=\"18108-slide8\" data-src=\"https:\/\/montana-mint.com\/lastbestnews\/wp-content\/uploads\/IMG_6261_small-771x514.jpg*771*514\" data-href=\"https:\/\/montana-mint.com\/lastbestnews\/wp-content\/uploads\/IMG_6261_small.jpg\" \/><h6>James Larson <a href=\"#\" class=\"slide-permalink\">permalink<\/a><\/h6><p><\/p><\/div><div id=\"18108-slide9\" data-src=\"https:\/\/montana-mint.com\/lastbestnews\/wp-content\/uploads\/IMG_6264_small-771x514.jpg*771*514\" data-href=\"https:\/\/montana-mint.com\/lastbestnews\/wp-content\/uploads\/IMG_6264_small.jpg\" \/><h6>James Larson <a href=\"#\" class=\"slide-permalink\">permalink<\/a><\/h6><p><\/p><\/div><div id=\"18108-slide10\" data-src=\"https:\/\/montana-mint.com\/lastbestnews\/wp-content\/uploads\/IMG_6274_771-771x444.jpg*771*444\" data-href=\"https:\/\/montana-mint.com\/lastbestnews\/wp-content\/uploads\/IMG_6274_771.jpg\" \/><h6>James Larson <a href=\"#\" class=\"slide-permalink\">permalink<\/a><\/h6><p><\/p><\/div><div id=\"18108-slide11\" data-src=\"https:\/\/montana-mint.com\/lastbestnews\/wp-content\/uploads\/0IMG_6213_771-771x514.jpg*771*514\" data-href=\"https:\/\/montana-mint.com\/lastbestnews\/wp-content\/uploads\/0IMG_6213_771.jpg\" \/><h6>James Larson <a href=\"#\" class=\"slide-permalink\">permalink<\/a><\/h6><p><\/p><\/div><div id=\"18108-slide12\" data-src=\"https:\/\/montana-mint.com\/lastbestnews\/wp-content\/uploads\/0IMG_6219_771-771x514.jpg*771*514\" data-href=\"https:\/\/montana-mint.com\/lastbestnews\/wp-content\/uploads\/0IMG_6219_771.jpg\" \/><h6>James Larson <a href=\"#\" class=\"slide-permalink\">permalink<\/a><\/h6><p><\/p><\/div><div id=\"18108-slide13\" data-src=\"https:\/\/montana-mint.com\/lastbestnews\/wp-content\/uploads\/0IMG_6231_771-771x514.jpg*771*514\" data-href=\"https:\/\/montana-mint.com\/lastbestnews\/wp-content\/uploads\/0IMG_6231_771.jpg\" \/><h6>James Larson <a href=\"#\" class=\"slide-permalink\">permalink<\/a><\/h6><p><\/p><\/div><div id=\"18108-slide14\" data-src=\"https:\/\/montana-mint.com\/lastbestnews\/wp-content\/uploads\/0IMG_6240_771-771x514.jpg*771*514\" data-href=\"https:\/\/montana-mint.com\/lastbestnews\/wp-content\/uploads\/0IMG_6240_771.jpg\" \/><h6>James Larson <a href=\"#\" class=\"slide-permalink\">permalink<\/a><\/h6><p><\/p><\/div><div id=\"18108-slide15\"><a href=\"https:\/\/montana-mint.com\/lastbestnews\/wp-content\/uploads\/0IMG_6256_771.jpg\" target=\"_blank\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/montana-mint.com\/lastbestnews\/wp-content\/uploads\/0IMG_6256_771-771x514.jpg\" \/><\/a><h6>James Larson <a href=\"#\" class=\"slide-permalink\">permalink<\/a><\/h6><p><\/p><\/div><\/div><\/div><script>jQuery( document ).ready( function() { loadSlideshow( 18108, 'https:\/\/montana-mint.com\/lastbestnews\/2017\/06\/big-sky-pride-finds-magic-in-billings\/', 15 ) } );<\/script>\n<p>The Big Sky Pride parade on Saturday may not have been the longest parade ever in downtown Billings, but it may well have been the most colorful.<!--more--><\/p>\n<p>The parade took only about 15 minutes to pass by any given point, short enough that hundreds of parade watchers had time to walk a block south on Broadway and see the whole thing again. It was worth a second look.<\/p>\n<p>Instead of marching bands, the parade had Chicks with Sticks, a group of women from Bozeman who beat in unison on plastic buckets and, later on, a big bass barrel. Instead of horses and riders, the parade had roaring motorcyclists and members of the Magic City Rollers roller derby team on roller skates.<\/p>\n<p>Parade marchers and spectators wore a colorful range of costumes, wearing T-shirts and carrying signs bearing such messages as \u201cLove Always Wins,\u201d \u201cLet\u2019s get one thing straight. I\u2019m not,\u201d \u201cI survived testosterone poisoning,\u201d \u201cI\u2019m gayer than Skittles\u201d and \u201cMake way for the gay.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>And there were hundreds of rainbow flags, dozens of necklaces of colorful beads, flowered leis and hair dyed in every color of the rainbow, sometimes all on the same head.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe believe in magic\u201d was the theme for the celebration, which was making its first appearance in Billings in nine years, but \u201cpride,\u201d the key word in the name of the annual celebration, seemed to be the real focus of the event\u2014a week when people of a mind-bending number of sexual orientations were able to stand tall, unafraid and uninhibited.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe first step was loving myself and coming out and feeling proud,\u201d said Ella Smith of the Montana Pride Foundation at a federal courthouse rally that followed the parade.<\/p>\n<p>A Helena man who asked not to be identified said that he has been attending Pride gatherings since 1995. In the early years, he said, protesters were common at the events.<\/p>\n<p>That first Helena event he attended included a rally on the Capitol steps and anti-gay messages spray painted on the Capitol doors. It also included an emotionally moving moment when a pastor led a group singing of the children\u2019s song \u201cJesus Loves Me,\u201d with its inclusive message of \u201cred and yellow, black and white, they are precious in his sight.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><div class=\"well\"><div class=\"dfad dfad_pos_1 dfad_first\" id=\"_ad_652\"><a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/goo.gl\/mjhWkW\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/lastbestnews.com\/site\/wp-content\/uploads\/201703_capeair_variable.jpg\" alt=\"CapreAir_Variable\" width=\"510\" height=\"180\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-18069\" \/><\/a><\/div><\/div>In those days, he said, many people were afraid to attend the annual celebration, and it was difficult to attract sponsors. But Saturday\u2019s event not only listed a page full of about 30 sponsors, including Wells Fargo and Blue Cross Blue Shield, it also drew visitors of all ages, among them many families.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe world has changed,\u201d he said. \u201cAmerica has changed.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Asked why he comes to the annual event, the Helena man pointed to the sense of community and openness and days of fun and dancing.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhy would you not come?\u201d he asked.<\/p>\n<p>If some churches still consider homosexuality a grave sin, other church groups expressed their support for the celebration by marching in the parade and holding up signs of their own. First Church of Billings may have had the most compelling float with a series of colorful doors labeled with the words \u201cGod\u2019s Doors Are Open for All.\u201d Members of Bethlehem Lutheran Church, Grace United Methodist Church, the Billings Unitarian Universalist Fellowship and Seeker\u2019s Harbor Faith Community, which is affiliated with the Disciples of Christ, also marched along.<\/p>\n<p>Gay support and civil rights groups abounded. Planned Parenthood, whose federal funding is endangered under current Republican majorities in Congress and the White House, seemed to draw particularly enthusiastic support from the crowd with its messages of \u201cProud to serve folks of all gender identities\u201d and \u201cProud to care no matter what.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The rally following the parade drew hundreds of spectators cheering speakers who voiced repeated calls for political activism. They also got a welcome from two men in drag, Lexi Tucker-Dixon, who sang the National Anthem in a resplendent gold gown, and Kola Stomey, whose short dress was threatened by a brisk breeze.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cApologies in advance if the wind gives you all a peep show. I\u2019m going to try to Marilyn it,\u201d he said. Or maybe she. As Kevin Hamm, Big Sky Pride president from Helena, acknowledged, keeping pronouns straight at the annual celebration can be a challenge.<\/p>\n<p>Politics may be boring and inefficient, Hamm told the crowd, but it\u2019s still important.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhen we get involved in politics, you know what we do?\u201d he asked. \u201cWe get marriage equality.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The city of Billings took a series of knocks from rally speakers, mostly over the City Council\u2019s failure to pass a nondiscrimination ordinance in 2014. Two members of the council at the time, Ken Crouch and Brent Cromley, spoke at the rally.<\/p>\n<p>Crouch noted that Article 2 of the Montana Constitution says, \u201cAll persons are born free and have certain inalienable rights.\u201d Section 4 of the article says, \u201cThe dignity of the human being is inviolable. No person shall be denied the equal protection of the laws.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The Legislature and the Billings City Council don\u2019t say who \u201call persons\u201d includes, but they are willing to decide who is excluded, he said.<\/p>\n<p>Cromley described himself as the \u201ctoken old white male straight guy\u201d at the rally and pointed that the city government lists as one of its goals to enable a \u201cdiverse, welcoming community.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe are a diverse community,\u201d he said, \u201cbut I think you know that we are not as welcoming as we should be.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>But like many other speakers, Cromley appeared to be optimistic about prospects for continued improvement in guaranteeing the rights of LGBTQ citizens.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s not always easy,\u201d Cromley said, \u201cbut I think this weekend shows it can be a hell of a lot of fun.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>State Rep. Jessica Karjala said a friend of hers moved out of Billings after the nondiscrimination ordinance was defeated.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI love my community,\u201d she said, \u201cbut to be perfectly honest sometimes I don\u2019t like it.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Several current candidates for political office spoke, among them Danielle Egnew, who is running for mayor.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe are the love and let live town,\u201d said Egnew, who said she came out in Billings 25 years ago and who first gained notoriety with the rock band Pope Jane. Later on Saturday, at the Pride Fest in North Park, Egnew said her campaign message of \u201clead with love\u201d is resonating with Billings voters. Whatever the outcome of her mayoral race, it was clear that she could have won an overwhelming victory if the election had been decided at Saturday\u2019s rally.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe are ready to move into the 21st century,\u201d she told the cheering crowd. \u201cBillings is ready to come together in beauty and in brilliance.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>State Rep. Kelly McCarthy, D-Billings, an Air Force veteran, said he went from being an ally of gay rights to an activist when a niece of his, also a veteran, moved to Laurel after being turned down for housing in Billings because of her sexual orientation.<\/p>\n<p>McCarthy sponsored House Bill 417 in the 2017 Legislature, a failed bill that would have added protection from discrimination based on \u201cgender identity, or expression, sexual orientation\u201d to Montana law.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s easily the biggest ass kicking I\u2019ve taken in the Legislature,\u201d he said. But speakers noted that they defeated a bill that would have required transgender people to use the bathroom of their birth certificate gender.<\/p>\n<p>McCarthy said that if Democrats could get a majority in the Legislature for just one session, they could move the state forward by decades.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBillings is more than a City Council vote a couple of years ago,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<p>Other speakers included Ta\u2019jin Perez, running in Ward 2 for the City Council; Tyler Starkweather, a candidate in Ward 3; Amelia Marquez, a Montana State University Billings student running in House District 52 for the Legislature; and Bryce Bennett, a state representative from Missoula now seeking a state Senate seat. He described himself as the first openly gay male state representative in Montana.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThis community,\u201d he said, referring to Big Sky Pride attendees, \u201chas never once asked for permission for our rights. We have taken them.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Letters also were read from Gov. Steve Bullock and U.S. Sen. Jon Tester, D-Mont. Bullock noted that he was the first Montana governor to speak at one of the annual celebrations. Tester said he is a cosponsor of the Equality Act, which would add \u201csex, sexual orientation and gender identity\u201d as protected categories against discrimination under the federal Civil Rights Act.<\/p>\n<p>After the rally, participants flocked to North Park, where the Pride Fest featured booths, live entertainment and food. Barjon\u2019s Books offered such titles as \u201cQueer: The Ultimate LGBT Guide for Teens\u201d and \u201cRaising the Transgender Child.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Forward Montana was signing up people to vote and urging them to send letters to senators asking them to hold judicial nominees to high standards of review.<\/p>\n<p>Taking a break in the shade at North Park was Monti Sebree, whose daughter, Mia, is acting president of the Gay Students Alliance at Senior High School. Sebree said her motive for supporting the celebration was simple: \u201cI don\u2019t want people messing around with my privacy.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>She said she was raised in Oklahoma, where racism and discrimination were still fairly common, and sees some of those same tendencies in Montana<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThere are some things you still don\u2019t talk about,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n<p>Erin Grantham, pediatric urologist at Billings Clinic, was there with her husband, Michael, and 3-year-old daughter. They moved to Billings in 2015, after the NDO ordinance was defeated, but said they were disappointed that it failed. Dr. Grantham said it was unfortunate that sort of thing is even needed in society.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI\u2019d like to see more of this,\u201d she said of Saturday\u2019s gathering.<\/p>\n<p>Also there was Ben Hahn, of the recently formed Billings chapter of Democratic Socialists of America, who said the candidacy of Bernie Sanders for president galvanized interest nationwide in democratic socialism. Just in the last year, he said, DSA chapters have formed in Billings, Helena, Bozeman and Missoula, and membership nationwide has more than tripled.<\/p>\n<p>A poll last year by YouGov showed that 43 percent of those under age 30 had at least a somewhat favorable view of socialism, nearly twice the percentage of those 65 or older.<\/p>\n<p>Hahn called for a return to times when socialist issues were a part of serious political debate. Eugene Debs was the candidate of the Socialist Party of America five times for president, winning as much as 6 percent of the popular vote in 1912.<\/p>\n<p>He said DSA was willing to support candidates of any party that backed its position on issues, but he agreed that Republicans were conspicuously absent at Saturday&#8217;s rally. However, he pointed out that a sign in the parade said that Libertarians had been backing LGBTQ+ rights since 1972, an indication that people of widely different political principles might find common ground.<\/p>\n<p>Events continued through the weekend with a Lipstick and Lipsynch Drag Show, comedy with Preacher Lawson, dance parties, movie screenings and, scheduled for Sunday, an interfaith service and recovery brunch.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The Big Sky Pride parade on Saturday may not have been the longest parade ever in downtown Billings, but it may well have been the most colorful.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":18110,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[14],"tags":[5932,5958,3637,4927,917],"class_list":["post-18108","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","tag-big-sky-pride","tag-bryce-bennett","tag-danielle-egnew","tag-jessica-karjala","tag-kelly-mccarthy","prominence-top-story"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/montana-mint.com\/lastbestnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18108","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/montana-mint.com\/lastbestnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/montana-mint.com\/lastbestnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/montana-mint.com\/lastbestnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/montana-mint.com\/lastbestnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=18108"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/montana-mint.com\/lastbestnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18108\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":18129,"href":"https:\/\/montana-mint.com\/lastbestnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18108\/revisions\/18129"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/montana-mint.com\/lastbestnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/18110"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/montana-mint.com\/lastbestnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=18108"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/montana-mint.com\/lastbestnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=18108"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/montana-mint.com\/lastbestnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=18108"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}