Happy Pride Month!

As LGBTQIA+ inclusion continues to make inroads in American culture, skirmishes still flare up, especially as June approaches. June is Pride Month, the annual opportunity for the LGBTQIA+ communities and their allies to recognize the community and its successes, as well as acknowledging their ongoing challenges.

There are plenty of challenges to go around. The Human Rights Campaign reports that this year alone, more than 520 anti-LGBTQ+ bills were introduced in state legislatures, and more than 220 bills specifically target transgender and non-binary people. Both were records. At least 119 of these bills ban gender-affirming healthcare for trans and non-binary youth. This places more than 54,000 trans youth receiving life-saving medical care at risk. A record 70 anti-LGBTQ laws have been enacted so far this year. In addition to the healthcare legislation, other bills required or allowed misgendering of transgender students, banned drag performances, and empowered book bans. 

The culture wars continue in venues besides state capitols. Target, Anheuser-Busch, and the Los Angeles Dodgers are among the major American corporations that have given into conservatives’ demands to retreat on LGBTQIA+ promotions. 

If those examples have emboldened you to think about pressuring Chalice to back off our support of the LGBTQIA+ community, don’t waste your time.  Chalice stands resolutely with the LGBTQIA+ community. Everybody needs to know God loves them, as they were created, no exceptions.

Our library contains half a dozen books that help Christians align a faith that welcomes all with the recognition and celebration of the divine diversity God created in our world. Chalice will continue producing resources that support diversity in all its forms. This unlimited, universal welcome is at the core of who we are.

Brad Lyons
President & Publisher, Chalice Media Group