NAMPA, IDAHO - Sunday, June 9, 2024 : Tom Wheeler waves a Pride

NAMPA, IDAHO - Sunday, June 9, 2024 : Tom Wheeler waves a Pride flag and yells "Canyon County, the gays are here! We are official!" before beginning set up for the first ever Pride festival in Canyon County. Nampa, a rural community in Idaho, hosted a first ever Pride festival this weekend. Tom Wheeler, a young gay realtor decided it was time. Idaho has sneakily led the way in passing anti-LGBTQ legislation in recent years. In 2020, it passed the country's first sports ban, and this year, its legislature approved another five anti LGBTQ bills, more than nearly any other state. Last month, the Supreme Court weighed in on anti-trans bills for the first time when it allowed Idaho to broadly enact a ban on gender transition care for minors. Inspired by the Stonewall protests in the 1960s, Tom Wheeler filed for a permit to host Nampa's first pride, a June 9 event in a local park. The town's mayor issued a public statement condemning the effort, and other residents begged her to cancel it. Still, Wheeler is determined. He raised nearly $10,000 after the mayor made clear she didn't support the event, and he ordered a six-foot fence to keep counter protesters from attacking attendees. (Photo by Kyle Green for The Washington Post via Getty Images)