Lgbtq people in the US have been watching developments in the UK with much fear and trepidation. We are accustomed to opposition from the religious right in our own country, but we are equally accustomed to support from mainstream cultural and corporate organizations. While we don’t exactly have constitutional protections for our basic liberties, we have something very much like it, although living in states controlled by Republican politicians is becoming increasingly fraught.

When we see our brothers and sisters across the Atlantic facing fundamental opposition even from liberal society, we ask ourselves if that same process will start up here. Liberal urban bubbles here are relatively safe for now. But we ask ourselves for how long.

If the BBC can call LGBTQ equality "controversial," then almost everything is at stake.