Why Is Homophobia on the Rise?

June is Pride Month. But May 17 was the International Day Against Homophobia, Transphobia, and Biphobia, and Joe Biden wasn’t going to cheat the nation out of some spellbinding oratory to mark the occasion. Speaking at the Capitol, he warned against “rising hate and violence targeting LGBTQI+ people in the United States.” The idea that [fill in the blank]ophobia is increasing is a regular trope of our public discourse.

Is such a rise occurring, though? If you accept the current standard that any criticism of pro-LGBT policy amounts to hatred, then yes, it probably is. People do seem to be growing bolder in offering such criticisms. Why?

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