{"id":403996,"date":"2026-07-19T01:18:10","date_gmt":"2026-07-19T01:18:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/403996\/"},"modified":"2026-07-19T01:18:10","modified_gmt":"2026-07-19T01:18:10","slug":"were-here-were-human-thousands-celebrate-together-at-san-diego-pride-parade-san-diego-union-tribune","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/403996\/","title":{"rendered":"\u2018We\u2019re here, we\u2019re human\u2019: Thousands celebrate together at San Diego Pride Parade \u2013 San Diego Union-Tribune"},"content":{"rendered":"

Sarah Miller and Crystal Long knew they wanted to spend forever together when they realized how different they are \u2014 and how those differences complemented each other.<\/p>\n

\u201cShe\u2019s free and fun, and I\u2019m practical and logical,\u201d said Long as the couple stood on Sixth Avenue\u00a0to watch the San Diego Pride Parade on Saturday.<\/p>\n

The Minnesota couple came to San Diego to get married at Sunset Cliffs this weekend \u2014 timing their celebration with the Pride parade and festival, the annual event that celebrates the LGBTQ+ community and its triumphs over hard-fought struggles.<\/p>\n

Miller and Long want to \u201csupport people in our world,\u201d Miller said. \u201cWe have transgender and gay children as well, so it\u2019s just part of our culture.\u201d<\/p>\n

Wearing matching tie-dye shirts that read \u201clove more,\u201d Miller and Long were two of the hundreds of thousands of people who showed up in the heat on Saturday to watch the Pride parade.<\/p>\n

\"ParticipantsParticipants with the YMCA cheer and dance during the San Diego Pride parade. (Kristian Carreon \/ The San Diego Union-Tribune)<\/p>\n

Bright and elaborately adorned floats blasted music down University and Sixth avenues, with other participants walking and holding signs in support of the LGBTQ+ community. On the sidelines, crowds of people cheered them on, waving rainbow flags with glitter on their faces.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re here, we\u2019re human \u2014 this is how people are. And to celebrate that, I think it\u2019s great,\u201d said Britney Hazzard, the La Mesa deputy city clerk who attended with her children and friends.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Pride community is a fun community to be a part of,\u201d she added.<\/p>\n

The parade was led by its signature motorcycle legion and featured some of the event\u2019s classic floats like the Dr. Bronner\u2019s Magic Foam Experience, a mobile foam and bubble shower. There was even a horse named Snacx being ridden near the beginning of the parade.<\/p>\n

This year\u2019s grand marshals were a group of LGBTQ+ civil rights defenders \u2014 including the Transgender Rights Project, American Civil Liberties Union of San Diego and Imperial Counties and the Tom Homann LGBTQ+ Law Association.<\/p>\n

Over the last year, the Trump administration has repeatedly targeted the LGBTQ+ community, limiting gender-affirming care for transgender individuals, banning transgender troops<\/a> from the military and removing references<\/a> to LGBTQ+ history and leaders from federal recognition.<\/p>\n

So far this year, more than 500 pieces of anti-LGBTQ+ legislation have been introduced nationwide, according to<\/a> the American Civil Liberties Union, including six in California.<\/p>\n

While the number of confirmed hate crimes decreased<\/a> in San Diego from 2024 to 2025, according to police, hate crimes based on anti-sexual orientation bias in 2025 still made up about 30% of the total.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re fighting systems of oppression that affect all of us,\u201d KishaLynn Elliott, the executive director of San Diego Pride, told the San Diego Union-Tribune<\/a> in March. \u201cIt\u2019s all about human dignity.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Motorcyclists<\/p>\n

Motorcyclists lead the San Diego Pride parade. (Kristian Carreon \/ The San Diego Union-Tribune)<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

A dog wears a rainbow butterfly during the San Diego Pride parade on Saturday. (Kristian Carreon \/ The San Diego Union-Tribune)<\/p>\n

\"Participants<\/p>\n

Participants with the LGBTQIA+ Civil Rights Defenders, the community grand marshal, ride a trolley bus. (Kristian Carreon \/ The San Diego Union-Tribune)<\/p>\n

\"Participants<\/p>\n

Participants with US Bank carry a pride flag down Sixth Avenue during the San Diego Pride parade. (Kristian Carreon \/ The San Diego Union-Tribune)<\/p>\n

\"Participants<\/p>\n

Participants with Hyatt wave to people. (Kristian Carreon \/ The San Diego Union-Tribune)<\/p>\n

\"Dancers<\/p>\n

Dancers perform during the San Diego Pride parade. (Kristian Carreon \/ The San Diego Union-Tribune)<\/p>\n

\"Participants<\/p>\n

Participants walk toward Balboa Park through Sixth Avenue during the San Diego Pride parade on Saturday. (Kristian Carreon \/ The San Diego Union-Tribune)<\/p>\n

\"Before<\/p>\n

Before the San Diego Pride parade officially kicked off, Sharat Lin performed a \u201cdance of peace\u201d. (Kristian Carreon \/ The San Diego Union-Tribune)<\/p>\n

Show Caption<\/p>\n

1 of 8<\/p>\n

Motorcyclists lead the San Diego Pride parade. (Kristian Carreon \/ The San Diego Union-Tribune)<\/p>\n

Expand<\/a><\/p>\n

Pride events are held today in San Diego to honor the Stonewall uprising of 1969, when police raided the Stonewall Inn in New York City and patrons fought back in a dayslong confrontation.<\/p>\n

San Diego Pride\u2019s own origins date back to 1974, when a group of people took to San Diego\u2019s streets calling for gay rights. In subsequent years, the group grew, and the modest march became the Pride Parade, which now brings in about a quarter of a million people each year.<\/p>\n

Along with the sea of rainbow flags and accessories, many attendees went the extra mile.<\/p>\n

\"PeoplePeople cheer and wave pride flags. (Kristian Carreon \/ The San Diego Union-Tribune)<\/p>\n

Pacific Beach resident and drag queen Harper Bizzarre\u2019s outfit on Saturday paid homage to Dorothy Gale from the Wizard of Oz, complete with a handmade dress that took 100 hours to create.<\/p>\n

Judy Garland, who played Dorothy in the 1939 film, is widely considered a queer icon, and Dorothy\u2019s character represents finding yourself. The song \u201cOver the Rainbow\u201d also became an anthem for the LGBTQ+ community.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve always known it was gay, and I\u2019ve always loved the movie since I first saw it when I was 5,\u201d Bizzarre said.<\/p>\n

After performing in a class production of the \u201cWizard of Oz\u201d in the first grade, Bizzarre said \u201csinging along to \u2018Over the Rainbow\u2019 was like a whole world opening for me.\u201d<\/p>\n

Bizzarre loves coming to the San Diego Pride Parade to see the community showing up for each other in the light of the daytime \u2014 out in the open.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m just so happy to see San Diego celebrating queer people,\u201d Bizzarre said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Sarah Miller and Crystal Long knew they wanted to spend forever together when they realized how different they…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":403997,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[28],"tags":[7,23,100,74,84,76,75,1696],"class_list":["post-403996","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-san-diego","tag-california","tag-local-news","tag-news","tag-san-diego","tag-san-diego-county","tag-san-diego-headlines","tag-san-diego-news","tag-top-stories-sdut"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/403996","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=403996"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/403996\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/403997"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=403996"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=403996"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=403996"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}