January 04 2026, 08:15 
Arlington Pride have announced that they are canceling plans for the city’s June 2026 Pride Parade. The Arlington City Council voted against reinstating LGBTQ+ protections earlier in December, and the organization says that it feels like it would not be safe to continue with the festivities without those protections in place.
“We cannot in good conscience invite attendees to an event in a city that refuses to provide even the most basic protections,” DeeJay Johannessen, CEO for the Help Center, said in a release. “Pride is about safety, celebration, and community. Without local anti-discrimination safeguards, we cannot guarantee those values for our attendees, performers, or partners.”
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The Arlington Pride parade is one of the largest in North Texas, drawing 15,000 people in June 2025. That parade has run since 2021, the same year that the city council voted unanimously to introduce an ordinance against discrimination. The motivation for that ordinance came from the death of George Floyd, but the policy also included provisions based on sexual orientation and gender identity.
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While there may be valid safety concerns and the LGBTQ+ community of Arlington might not have much to celebrate, some have suggested that cancelling the event is the wrong call and that it amounts to compliance.
One commenter said “the first pride was a riot. I understand the sentiment, but don’t you think now more than ever we should host a louder, more exuberant pride?” Another simply said “You are letting them win.”
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Arlington’s city council first voted to suspend the discrimination protections back in September under pressure from the Trump administration. After Trump’s executive order that attempted to declare that there are only two sexes, the council was concerned that they would lose their federal funding if they continued protecting transgender people and other LGBQ+ community members.
The city manager, Trey Yelverton, has said that Arlington receives $65 million in federal grants which support housing assistance programs, fund firefighters, and provide rideshare and transport services for Arlington residents.
While many spoke in favor of reinstating the protections at council meetings in Arlington in November and December, the council voted 5-4 for keeping them suspended. Measures were suggested that might weaken the protections but keep the federal funding, but those ideas were abandoned.
Without those protections in place, complaints about discrimination by a landlord, business owner, or employer, will no longer receive any investigation from the city.
Arlington Mayor, Jim Ross, who voted in favor of reinstating the ordinance, has suggested that despite the protections no longer being in place, they want Arlington to remain a safe space for LGBTQ+ people.
“The City of Arlington remains committed to fostering an inclusive and equitable community for all residents and ensuring that no one individual faces discrimination. I pledge to each and every one of y’all that we will continue to collaborate with community leaders, council members, and city staff to reach a solution that is palatable to all,” he wrote.
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