Pride month merchandise is displayed at the front of a Target store in Hackensack, N.J., Wednesday, May 24, 2023. . Target is removing some items from its stores and making other changes to its LGBTQ+ merchandise nationwide ahead of Pride month after intense backlash from some customers who confronted workers and tipped over displays.
Target said that customers knocked down Pride displays at some stores, angrily approached workers and posted threatening videos on social media from inside the stores. Target's response to confrontations in its stores is taking place as state legislatures introduce a record number of bills targeting LGBTQ+ individuals.
At least 17 states have enacted laws restricting or banning gender-affirming care for transgender minors, though judges have temporarily blocked their enforcement in some, including Arkansas. An Associated Press analysis found that often those bills sprang not from grassroots or constituent demand, but from the pens of a handful of conservative interest groups.