Your roundup of this week’s most widely-read, shared, and discussed stories.


The 42nd annual Seattle Pride Parade is on Sunday.
The 42nd annual Seattle Pride Parade is on Sunday. Kelly O

• There are countless ways to celebrate Pride this weekend. (Well, we counted 35.) There’s the Pride Parade‚ of course, but don’t overlook these other cheap and easy events and activities. If you already know what you want, and if that thing you want is to drink, then crush a cup at these 10 queer clubs. If you’d like to go out for a cause, then these benefits for victims of the Orlando shooting deserve your attention. (For non-Pride related cheap and easy listings, look no further—they're right here.)

• While you’re out celebrating, beware of petitioners for I-1515, WA’s anti-trans bathroom initiative. We’ve received reports that signature-gatherers for I-1515 are using deceptive tactics to gain support from unsuspecting Seattleites, including bundling the petition in clipboards with other progressive causes and calling the petition a “fair vote for co-ed bathrooms.” They’ll be staged around Seattle this weekend, so be careful of what you sign.

Tomorrow people!
Tomorrow people! Charles Mudede

• Plenty of people have argued that Sound Transit should spend less on marketing. Charles Mudede makes the case that it should spend more. Why? Compared to the auto industry, public transit spends peanuts on PR. If Sound Transit wants to overcome decades of social conditioning that leads drivers to believe that cars are normal and necessary, light rail needs to market itself the way cars have been marketed.

• Ansel took a look at the contents of secretive negotiations between the police union and the city. Leaked pages from an updated contract reveal a lack of progress in the area of police accountability. In response to the story, Seattle Mayor Ed Murray enlisted the FBI to find the source of the leak. Murray called for the hunt despite the fact that even the Department of Justice is open to making police union negotiations public.

This is what transphobia looks like.
This is what transphobia looks like. Michael Volz

• Michael Volz, a trans person, was attacked while leaving a benefit for victims of the Orlando shooting this week. To help Volz recover, friends have started a GoFundMe page. Police are investigating the beating.

• What does coming out look like in the Middle East, Russia, and Africa? Each photo at Seattle Art Museum's Where Love Is Illegal exhibit depicts exactly that: declarations of LGBTQI identities. Many of the subjects in the photos face the camera, but others turn away. Regardless, the decision to be “out” is one that may put the subjects at risk.

Watch the magical negroes heal Matthew McConaughey from his wounds that he received while badassing his way into exile.
Watch the magical negroes heal Matthew McConaughey from his wounds that he received while badassing his way into exile.

• Ijeoma Oluo reviewed The Free State of Jones, the new white savior movie starring Matthew McConaughey. Some allege that the review is "life-giving." Others are calling it “perfect.” One reader says it's “💯🔥💯🔥”. In any case, you should read it. Then you can watch it for yourself, or skip it for one of these weekend film picks from our critics.

Enjoy the sun this weekend.