Downtown Des Moines was alive with Pride on Sunday, June 9. The weekend long festival included a parade on Sunday afternoon, with many members and supporters of the LGBT community in attendance.

Although there was quite the crowd, the Des Moines area is still working on supporting the LGBT community.

“I mean, it’s not completely one hundred percent, but every day it progresses,” said Adam Brower. “And I would say it’s one of the most supportive places I’ve ever been, to be honest.”

“I’d say like eight to nine on a 10 scale,” said Matt Wisdom, when asked how supportive he thought the Des Moines area is to the LGBT community. He and his husband, Jake, recently moved to the area from Kansas, where Pride wasn’t very established.

Two proud parents, whose gay son is clergy in Chicago, said they believe the Des Moines area is increasingly supportive to the LGBT community. Although Des Moines is not as supportive as some places and more so than others, it’s making progress. The couple has marched in the Pride parade for over a decade. When they first began marching, they would have to jump out onto the sidewalk to cheer on the rest of the people since there weren’t many in the crowd.

Tracy Bear, an Iowa State University alumnae, said she thinks the LGBT community is becoming more accepted, judging by the people that were in the parade and the people that were attending.