A new study by the Williams Institute at UCLA School of Law finds that 48% of LGBTQ adults in the U.S. support police participation in Pride events, while 19% oppose it and 33% are ambivalent.
Support varies across the community: lesbian and gay respondents are most likely to be in favor (60%), compared to bisexual (42%) and queer (44%) respondents. Transgender and nonbinary respondents are the least supportive, at 37%, compared to about half of cisgender men (53%) and women (49%). Support did not differ significantly by race or ethnicity.
Additionally, younger LGBTQ people are less likely to support police participation at Pride events than their older counterparts. Just one-third (33%) of LGBTQ people ages 18–29 support police participation, compared with 53% to 64% among older LGBTQ adults. Younger LGBTQ people are two to three times more likely to oppose police participation at Pride events than their older counterparts.
“Police participation in Pride parades and events remains a recurring and often contentious issue,” said study author Jordan Grasso, Research Data Analyst at the Williams Institute. “For some LGBTQ people, police participation in Pride signifies progress in police-community relations. Others view it as a form of ‘pinkwashing’ that obscures historical and current patterns of police violence and discrimination against LGBTQ communities.”
Researchers analyzed data from the 2022 Policing the Rainbow study, the first nationally representative survey examining LGBTQ people’s experiences with and perceptions of the police.
Findings show that socioeconomic status also shapes support for police participation at Pride. LGBTQ people with high socioeconomic status are the most likely to support police participation (60%) and the least likely to oppose it (14%). In comparison, only 47% of LGBTQ people with low socioeconomic status and 44% of those in the middle support police participation at Pride events.
“The LGBTQ community is not a monolith, particularly in their perceptions of police,” said study author Laurel Sprague, Research Director at the Williams Institute. “The parts of the community most vulnerable to negative police interactions, including those who identify as transgender, have lower economic status, and are younger, understandably feel the most opposition to police participation at Pride.”