Two teenage girls were shot and six other people were bear sprayed on the evening of June 29 near the end of New York City’s Pride march, tainting the month-long LGBTQ+ celebrations with violence.
The shooting occurred around 10 pm in Sheridan Square near the historic Stonewall Inn in Greenwich Village, a landmark of the gay rights movement. A 16-year-old girl was shot in the leg and is in stable condition, while a 17-year-old remains in critical condition after being struck in the head, police said.
In a separate incident, six individuals were bear sprayed in Washington Square Park, a few blocks away.
Authorities later identified a 33-year-old man as the suspect in the bear-spray incident. He told police he used the spray in self-defense, fearing an attack by a group, according to the New York Daily News. No suspect has yet been identified in the shooting.
Every year, more and more nations around the world adopt new laws that offer up equal rights to LGBTQ+ citizens, but other countries enforce laws that diminish them. Millions of queer individuals continue to live in fear, their lives shadowed by hate and intolerance. From a legal point of view, simply being who they are can lead to persecution and even death, but the public’s animosity can also turn violent before the law steps in. Indeed, some of the worst countries for LGBTQ+ individuals in terms of violence actually offer considerable legal protections.
Some nations truly are incredibly dangerous for LGBTQ+ folk, places where they experience harrowing violence without reprieve. Click through this gallery to see which countries they are.