Staten Island Saint Patrick’s Day Parade organisers have yet again said no to including LGBTQ+ groups to take part in their much anticipated event which is scheduled to take place on March 6.
The decision was made on Sunday February 20, when LGBTQ+ groups Pride Center of Staten Island, The Gay Officers Action League (GOAL) and Fireflag attended a parade sign-up session at Holy Family Church in Staten Island.
Upon arriving the event, the organisations were denied the chance to sign-up by Larry Cummings, Saint Patrick’s Day Parade long-time organiser. According to Cummings, LGBTQ+ groups have no place in the borough’s St. Patrick’s Day gathering.
LGBT+ people have been proudly marching in @stpatricksfest for decades.
The kind of bigotry & exclusion outlined below is anathema to the vast majority of Irish people and the Irish-ness that deserves to be celebrated. 🏳️🌈🇮🇪 @GCNmag @CoreyinNYC @LGBTCenterNYC #StPatricksDay https://t.co/Fk0ac8J4BZ
— NXF (@nxfie) February 25, 2022
In an interview with Gay City News, Pride Center Executive Director Carol Bullock details her experience “I handed (Cummings) the application and he said, ‘I don’t want that,” she later states “the minute we walked in, I could see his body language. My board member Alex Carr walked over to introduce himself, tried to shake Larry’s hand, and Larry said ‘I’m not shaking your hand’.
The Staten Island St. Patrick’s Day gathering is known for being one of the biggest parades in New York. Many political leaders are known to attend this event but in recent years, its stance on allowing LGBTQ+ contingents has caused some representatives to sit the event out.
The parade application justifies the exclusion of LGBTQ+ groups as ‘promotion of sexual identification agendas’: “The parade is not to be used for and will not allow political or sexual identification agendas to be promoted. this parade is for the celebration of St. Patrick and of Irish heritage.”
We are hopeful that the organizers of the Staten Island St. Patrick’s Day Parade will see the need for inclusion and allow members of the LGBTQ+ community to participate. Until that time, @NYCMayor will NOT participate in the parade.https://t.co/NOjNEmbdMA
— Fabien Levy (@Fabien_Levy) February 25, 2022
The last parade took place in 2020 and had a similar controversy take place. Joseph Borelli, a Republican minority political leader of the New York City Council was thrown out of the event for wearing a pride flag on his lapel in sign of support to the local Pride Center.
© 2022 GCN (Gay Community News). All rights reserved.
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