I’ve driven through snowstorms to perform in beautiful rural Alaska, lip-synced to Donna Summer on plywood stages, and helped support queer community in a state where winter lasts half the year and tolerance can sometimes feel just as cold. But baby, what Congress is trying to pass right now? That’s colder than anything Alaska’s weather can throw at us.
Let’s talk about the so-called “Big Beautiful Bill” that recently passed the U.S. House. Spoiler: it’s not beautiful. It’s cruel, calculated, and catastrophic for Alaskans – especially if you’re queer, trans, poor, rural, disabled, a caregiver, or just someone trying to make it with the support of Medicaid, DenaliCare, Denali KidCare, or SNAP.
At its core, this bill is about deciding who deserves care — and who doesn’t. It includes a devastating provision that bans the use of federal Medicaid and CHIP funds for any gender-affirming care, for anyone, at any age. Originally, it targeted trans youth. But lawmakers didn’t stop there. They expanded the language to strip coverage for trans adults, too.
That means no more hormone therapy. No more puberty blockers. No more affirming surgeries. But here’s the twisted part: these same treatments remain available to cisgender people under the same programs. A cis man can still get testosterone. A cis woman can still get estrogen. But if you’re trans? Not covered. It’s discriminatory. It’s dangerous. And it’s deeply wrong.
But it’s not just trans Alaskans who are at risk. This bill guts Medicaid funding overall — undermining DenaliCare and Denali KidCare, which provide health coverage to thousands of families, children, and elders across the state. It threatens rural hospitals, limits access to lifesaving care, and strips coverage from the people who need it most.
It also includes major cuts to SNAP, the food assistance program that helps Alaskans keep their families fed. In a state where grocery prices are sky-high and food insecurity is real, SNAP is critical. For queer youth, for single parents, for our elders, and for rural families just trying to get through the week – these cuts would be devastating.
And here we are, in Pride Month — a time when we celebrate resilience, love, and the power of living our truth. A time when businesses hang rainbow flags and politicians give speeches about acceptance. But let me say this as plainly as I can: Allyship is not about logos or slogans. It’s about showing up when it matters. And it matters right now.
If you say you support queer people, now is the time to prove it. Because this bill isn’t just about politics — it’s about survival. About health. About dignity. About whether our trans siblings can access the care they need to live. And about whether Alaska families, queer or not, can take their kids to the doctor, afford groceries, or get help when they’re in crisis.
This Pride Month, real solidarity means standing against cruelty. It means recognizing that when one of us is targeted, all of us are at risk. And it means expecting our elected leaders to stop this bill before it causes irreparable harm.
There’s nothing beautiful about stripping people of care. But there is something beautiful about standing together. About seeing humanity in one another. About choosing community over cruelty.
Let’s make that the legacy of this Pride.
Golden Delicious is a drag performer and proud member of Alaska’s Queer community.