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Same sex marriage to take place during Rose Parade
Not sure which float, but it's a real hot topic around town....not very favorably,either.
Although Pasadena is an overwhelmingly blue city, the folks mostly responsible for the parade are Republicans. Not the tea party type...the rich type. 
so, it's hard to tell what's what here. Not sure of the true motivation or end game, but this will be fun to watch. 
2 replies
= new reply since forum marked as read
= new reply since forum marked as read
Details from AHF's Rose Parade Same-sex Wedding: 'Love is the Best Protection'
For the third year in a row, AIDS Healthcare Foundation (AHF), the largest global AIDS organization, will take part in the Rose Parade. Following a United States Supreme Court ruling in June that allowed same-sex marriages to resume in California, AHF's float this year will celebrate same-sex marriage and the role it can play in helping to reduce new HIV infections among gay men. As part of its ‘Love is the Best Protection' theme, AHF's float will include what is believed to be a first: a same-sex wedding performed live during the parade. In 2013, the Rose Parade attracted approximately 700,000 attendees, aired live nationally on eight networks to 56 million viewers, and was televised in 174 countries for an additional 28 million international viewers.
Playing off the Tournament's 2014 theme of ‘Dreams Come True,' Aubrey Loots, 42, and Danny Leclair, 45, a gay male couple from Los Angeles together over a decade, will be ‘Living the Dream' as they legally marry on New Year's Day during the historic parade. AHF's ‘Living the Dream' float will highlight the fact that ‘Love is the Best Protection.'
Loots, originally from South Africa, and Leclair, from Canada, together own Studio DNA Salons, a chain of three successful L.A. area hair salons. Loots also shares the distinction of being recognized as a Wella Top Artist, who serves celebrity and civilian clients alike while his soon to be husband manages the day to day operations.
<snip>
Joining them on AHF's float will be Sharon Raphael and Mina Meyer, a lesbian couple together 42 years and who were legally married in California in 2008. Raphael, a PhD and a retired college professor, and Meyer are two longtime Southern California advocates who have played key roles in both LGBT history as well as in the fight against HIV/AIDS in Los Angeles. They served on the AIDS Hospice Committee and were involved in the creation of Chris Brownlie Hospice in Elysian Park, the first licensed AIDS hospice in California, the forerunner of today's AIDS Healthcare Foundation. Sharon and Mina first met as four- and five-year-old neighbors and friends in Cleveland, Ohio. They reconnected by chance—or fate—decades later as adults in Southern California and have been together ‘Living the Dream' ever since.
Playing off the Tournament's 2014 theme of ‘Dreams Come True,' Aubrey Loots, 42, and Danny Leclair, 45, a gay male couple from Los Angeles together over a decade, will be ‘Living the Dream' as they legally marry on New Year's Day during the historic parade. AHF's ‘Living the Dream' float will highlight the fact that ‘Love is the Best Protection.'
Loots, originally from South Africa, and Leclair, from Canada, together own Studio DNA Salons, a chain of three successful L.A. area hair salons. Loots also shares the distinction of being recognized as a Wella Top Artist, who serves celebrity and civilian clients alike while his soon to be husband manages the day to day operations.
<snip>
Joining them on AHF's float will be Sharon Raphael and Mina Meyer, a lesbian couple together 42 years and who were legally married in California in 2008. Raphael, a PhD and a retired college professor, and Meyer are two longtime Southern California advocates who have played key roles in both LGBT history as well as in the fight against HIV/AIDS in Los Angeles. They served on the AIDS Hospice Committee and were involved in the creation of Chris Brownlie Hospice in Elysian Park, the first licensed AIDS hospice in California, the forerunner of today's AIDS Healthcare Foundation. Sharon and Mina first met as four- and five-year-old neighbors and friends in Cleveland, Ohio. They reconnected by chance—or fate—decades later as adults in Southern California and have been together ‘Living the Dream' ever since.
