A Nova Scotia town held its queer prom last week despite facing alleged threats of violence.
Organizers with the annual queer prom in Sydney—a town on Cape Breton Island with a population of just over 29,000—received a tip about threats of a mass shooting targeting the event, according to CBC News. The threat appears to have been made on Facebook, yet specifics of what the perpetrator intended to do were not cited in the report.
Madonna Doucette, director of the Youth Project in Cape Breton, said she was “angry” when she heard that the gathering could be targeted. The queer prom was originally organized by Pride Cape Breton a little less than a decade ago.
“I felt irritated that a rumour could have so much control over something very real and very important to the kids I serve,” she told CBC News. “And I also felt very frightened.”
According to CBC, a spokesperson for the Cape Breton Regional Police Service confirmed that the agency received a report from someone who said they saw the threats online, but law enforcement officials did not say whether they had investigated the claims. Further details about the allegation—including the date and time of the alleged threat—were not provided.
The queer prom went ahead as planned on June 17, along with added police presence. A local security firm reportedly volunteered its services to keep attendees safe, and all bags were checked to ensure that no one entering the building brought a firearm.
The Nova Scotia incident isn’t an isolated one: LGBTQ2S+ communities across the globe are facing increased threats during Pride Month.
In the U.S., at least three major events have been targeted by far-right groups this month alone. In Coeur d’Alene, Idaho, 31 members of the white nationalist group Patriot Front were arrested after showing up to a “Pride in the Park” event with gas masks and shields. Five men said to be members of the Proud Boys disrupted a “Drag Queen Story Hour” in San Lorenzo, California, while 30 protesters gathered outside a venue hosting an adults-only drag brunch show in Dallas, Texas.
Police also arrested an individual in Canada last week after he allegedly made threats to shoot people at a “Pride on the Block” event in West Palm Beach, Florida.
These incidents have LGBTQ2S+ people feeling apprehensive about attending Pride events in their areas as event coordinators plan for the worst, according to NBC News. Some attribute the hostility to attacks on queer and trans people by U.S. politicians—as bills seeking to censor LGBTQ2S+ education in schools and restrict gender-affirming healthcare continue to sweep the nation.
“These incidents coincide with escalating debate and legislation to curb the rights of transgender and gender nonconforming individuals,” reads a statement from the University of Utah, which has seen a number of hate crimes directed at LGBTQ2S+ locals this year, including vandalism and a homophobic chant at a sports event.
LGBTQ2S+ people and their allies said, however, that they will continue to fight to create safe spaces for the community in spite of these threats.
In Nova Scotia, allies stepped up to provide protection for LGBTQ2S+ teens who attended queer prom. “If I need to stand outside and be a barrier for any potential hazards, I’m willing to do that if it means that my kids get to experience something that they really want to be part of,” Serena Matheson, a mother of two, told CBC News.
Organizers of the dance said that they were heartened to see the voices of love drown out the hate. “The outrage and sense of strength and defiance from the messages that we’re getting is just—it’s just inspiring,” Doucette said.
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