Squirt.org to Send Message at L.A. Pride Parade

TORONTO—Gay hookup site Squirt.org will be among the thousands making a statement at L.A. Pride’s Resist March on Sunday, June 11 in Hollywood, affirming its support of LGBT rights with bus shelter ads that proclaim “Let’s Make America Gay Again.” The signs, featuring two gay men holding the American flag along with the words “Dear Mr. President, Let’s Make America Gay Again,” had first appeared on billboards in Los Angeles and New York City during President Donald Trump’s January 20 inauguration. The ads, placed in 15 bus shelters along the parade route, are a play on Trump’s campaign slogan “Let’s Make America Great Again,” and demonstrate Canada-based Squirt.org’s commitment to support gay rights worldwide as well as to encourage Trump and his administration to take LGBT rights seriously. The ads will remain up for the entire week. “To us, ‘Make America Gay Again’ isn’t just a catch phrase, but a statement in support of gay and LGBT rights at a time when fear is at an all-time high,” said Attila Szatmari, digital business director for Pink Triangle Press, Squirt.org’s parent company. “We received such a positive response to the billboard campaign we wanted to bring that energy back and give people that sense of community and solidarity with a powerful message!” The ResistMarch replaces this year’s annual L.A. Pride Parade after organizers agreed to set aside the festive parade in favor of a march to oppose growing anti-gay and anti-LGBT sentiment during the Trump administration. It will begin at Hollywood and Highland and follow a 3.1-mile route to La Brea Avenue, then turn onto Santa Monica Boulevard and end at San Vicente Boulevard in West Hollywood, at the entrance of the Pride festival. Among the issues that concern Squirt.org are Trump’s opposition in 2016 to gay marriage and support for judges who would seek to overturn the Marriage Equality Act that legalized gay unions. Transgender rights have also come under fire after Trump has repeatedly voiced his support for the controversial law in North Carolina that bans transgender individuals from using bathrooms that do not conform with the gender that they were born with. Moreover, Trump has also vowed to sign the so-called First Amendment Defense Act that protects discrimination on religious grounds, thereby prohibiting action against those who “believes or acts in accordance of their religious beliefs or moral conviction” that marriage is defined as the union between a man and woman. This political rhetoric is more than just talk, say the organizers of the Squirt.org campaign. They note that the Los Angeles Daily News reported on April 4 that Los Angeles Police Department statistics showed a 15 percent increase in hate crimes in 2016, along with a notable spike in attacks against the gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender communities. “We hope everyone comes out in support of L.A. Pride and the gay and LGBT communities here and everywhere. It’s a time to stand up for justice and equality!” Szatmari said. To learn more, visit Squirt.org.