About 200 people gathered on the Cumberland County Courthous lawn today for ‘Pride on the lawn’ LGBTQ event. These celebrations come as tensions have continued to rise over being LGBTQ+  in conservative-led states like Tennessee.  For the most part, there were no ‘religious right’ protesters in attendance as there have been in the  past.  One protester did announce to the group that they were not being Christians since the Bible condemns homosexuality.   In Tennessee, legislation is increasingly targeting members of the LGBTQ+ community. (In 2023, Tennessee had enacted more anti-LGBTQ laws than any other state, according to the Human Rights Campaign.)

According to the latest Gallop survey, only 7.1 percent of the U.S. identify with being LGBTQ.