NYC: LGBTQ groups barred from marching in Staten Island St. Patrick's Day parade again
It’s one of the biggest days on Staten Island: the St. Patrick’s Day Parade.
It’s a day when Forest Avenue fills with the sounds of bagpipes, marching bands and cheers from hundreds of New Yorkers.
But every year it goes on without the Pride Center of Staten Island, an organization that advocates and offers services to support the LGBTQ members of the borough.
“I can go to Dublin and march. Every year I’m invited into Queens and Manhattan and I march there. I can march in Boston if I want. I cannot march in Staten Island,” said Carol Bullock, the pride center’s executive director.
Bullock says the parade committee has denied the organization’s application to march behind their banner each year since 2011.
She says the committee rules state they do not allow any sexual identification or political agendas to be promoted.
“I was with two of the parade committee individuals and one of them looked at me and said, ‘You run a homosexual organization. You’re denied.’ And I went, ‘What does that even mean? Homosexual organization?’ And he just went ‘denied,’ opened the door and told me to get out at that point,” Bullock said.
https://www.ny1.com/nyc/all-boroughs/politics/2023/03/03/lgbtq-groups-barred-from-marching-in-staten-island-st-patrick-s-day-parade-again
= new reply since forum marked as read
