The colors of the rainbow flag shone in the sunlight and songs by Queen played while a few Capitol Hill Pride participants marched through the streets in protest of the recent Supreme Court ruling, 303 Creative LLC v. Elenis, which allows certain businesses the right to refuse service to Queer people.
"We kind of consider it pretty much a step back," said Charlette LeFevre, the board director of CHP, regarding the case. "We do stand with Supreme Court Justices Sonia Sotomayor, Elena Kagan, and Ketanji Brown Jackson. Nobody should be discriminated against for who they are. And we consider it disturbing and a sliding back. So, we're here just ...to take a stand and demonstrate."
"A lot of legislation and things are not as colorful ...as a flag-waving parade or anything like that, but it's so important," she continued. "Politics is how we live our lives... These are the representatives that we elect [to make] legislation that guides and creates a path of equality. We underestimate how important it is, I think, to vote and to look at our democratic process and not just strive for equality, to actually protect it."
The march, which consisted of six people, two banners, and two rainbow flags, was called the Seattle Rainbow Forward March, because, they said, CHP refuses to slide backward. While the size of the event was small, they still were able to make their voices heard as they walked from Seattle Central College to the Seattle Police Department's East Precinct and then to The AMP: AIDS Memorial Pathway before making their way back to SCC.
"This is fucking sad," said Sirregis, who was tasked with holding the megaphone, to a café full of people who did not join the march. "Sad, sad, sad, sad, sad, sad, sad, sad. This is the problem, and this is how they got in there, and I'm calling you out."
According to LeFevre, the SPD had told her that they would escort the march through the streets to help with safety for the marchers, but they did not. In fact, when an SPD car did go behind the march in what was assumed to be an escort, the vehicle ended up driving away and parking in front of the SPD East Precinct instead.
Some security might have been helpful to the group, since there were a few instances of onlookers making homophobic comments, with one driver even going as far as to drive quite close and fast by the marchers while he screamed obscenities.
This, however, was not surprising to LeFevre, who had prepared for the event by supplying herself and CHP board member Philip Lipson with bright yellow safety vests, so they would be more easily seen by oncoming traffic.
On top of protesting the recent SCOTUS ruling, they also had plans to air their grievances with he SPD directly in front of their precinct.
"SPD, you're full of poo," LeFevre said. "January 6th, shame on you. You still have four police officers in your ranks [who were present at the attack on the Capitol] ...You've got a lot of work to do." This comment was in connection to the six SPD officers who were present at the insurrection; only two of them were fired from their positions.
This is only part of the battle by CHP for equal rights.
"We're not going to go back in the closet," said Super Liv Morgan (aka Asukaa Jaxx), a write-in candidate for Seattle City Council District 3. "We're not going to take a step backward."