While marketing their businesses as gay-owned was once an effective marketing tactic for LGBTQ entrepreneurs, rising discrimination has led some to remove references to queerness from their branding materials.Fred Lum/the Globe and Mail

Rob Csernyik is a contributing columnist for The Globe and Mail.

When I owned a retail store about 10 years ago, I didn’t put a Pride flag on the door. The omission wasn’t intentional. Marketing my business as gay-owned was one of countless good ideas lost in the mad shuffle of entrepreneurship.

It might have been a savvy promotional tool, drawing LGBTQ and ally customers to my ailing shop. But it was a different time. North American LGBTQ rights felt like they were on the upswing then. Presently that’s not the case.

Though a recent Ipsos Pride report poll found Canadian support for LGBTQ rights was rising compared with other countries, it was climbing back from a significant decline in last year’s report. The news is full of debates over rollbacks of sexual and gender-minority rights across North America and the world. In corporate circles, the gutting of diversity, equity and inclusion policies at major companies and the axing of Pride sponsorships dampened what had become a celebratory mood each June.

Toronto Pride draws thousands as........

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