An annual local tradition has turned into a charged political topic, after an LGBTQ veterans organization has been excluded from participating in South Boston’s St. Patrick’s Day parade. The parade organizer, the South Boston Allied War Veterans Council, voted  9 to 4 on Tuesday to not allow OUTVETS to march in the parade this year, scheduled to take place on March 19. The action sparked bipartisan backlash from politicians, organizations, and sponsors.

In a Facebook post, the group wrote that the Veterans Council “did not give a clear reason” for rejection of the application, but they assumed it was because it was an LGBTQ organization. The group was able to march for the past two years, but they allege that they were put in the rear of the parade last year.

The New York Times reports that Boston Mayor Martin J. Walsh (D) and Massachusetts governor Charlie Baker (R) will abstain from participating in the parade due to the exclusion.

I will not be marching in the St. Patrick’s Day Parade unless this is resolved. #OneBoston pic.twitter.com/OalXJfZTQR

— Marty Walsh (@MartyForBoston) March 8, 2017

On Thursday, Anheuser-Busch announced that it is “re-evaluating” its participation in the event, potentially leaving the parade without one of its major sponsors. The Teamsters Local 25 Union also declared that its members would not be marching in the parade if the ban was upheld, saying that it was “no longer representative” of its 11,000 members.

In a press release posted to its website, the Veterans Council defended the decision, saying that the parade’s Code of Conduct “prohibits the advertisement or display of one’s sexual orientation,” a rule which the group’s rainbow flag violated. The Council claimed that the policy is “neutral and not one-sided,” claiming that “the council routinely bars controversial groups from across the political spectrum.” The release also claimed that OUTVETS submitted its application after the deadline.

This is not the first time that the parade has clashed with LGBTQ organizations. In 1995, in a case that went to the Supreme Court, the Council was allowed to exclude certain groups based on First Amendment grounds after it refused to allow a gay veterans group to participate.

On Thursday afternoon, it was announced that there would be an emergency meeting on Friday to re-vote on the decision.

Mariam Jaffery

Mariam was an Executive Assistant at Law Street Media and a native of Northern Virginia. She has a B.A. in International Affairs with a minor in Business Administration from George Washington University. Contact Mariam at mjaffery@lawstreetmedia.com.

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It’s St. Patrick’s Day, and like every year, it’s celebrated nationwide with green-hued parades. New York City’s St. Patrick’s Day Parade is the nation’s largest and, at 250 years running, the oldest. But today they made history by becoming LGBT friendly. OUT@NBCUniversal, a corporate group for gay employees of NBCUniversal, became the first gay group to march in the parade. However still unsatisfied with its level of inclusion, Mayor Bill de Blasio and the City Council boycotted the parade for the second year in a row.

Congrats to @OUTNBCUniversal, making a wee bit o’history today: pic.twitter.com/ZhpD1DIpcD

— Mark Joyella (@standupkid) March 17, 2015

Organizers of the parade banned LGBT organizations for decades from participating in the event based on Roman Catholic opposition to homosexuality. The ban did not explicitly ban LGBT members from marching, but rather prohibited them from carrying banners marking them as LGBT. Last fall, organizers announced that they would finally be lifting the ban this year in response to public protest and loss of corporate sponsors including beer giants Heineken and Guinness.

According to USA Today, NBCUniversal Executive Vice President and Chief Diversity Officer Craig Robinson issued a statement saying:

We approach the opportunity with respect for the event’s heritage, culture and tradition, as well as hope and excitement for this first step towards an increasingly inclusive era for the parade.

Cities such as Boston and Washington D.C. allowed gay groups to participate in their St. Patrick’s Day parades this year as well, but with over 300 organizations marching in NYC’s parade, some still aren’t impressed with the parade’s admittance of only one LGBT org.  According to MSNBC, Mayor Bill de Blasio refused to walk again this year, opting to instead participate earlier this month in an alternative St. Patrick’s Day parade, known as the St. Pat’s for All parade. That event promotes equality and acceptance. De Blasio’s office issued a statement explaining the mayor’s decision saying:

St. Patrick’s Day parades from Boston to Dublin have opened their arms to the LGBT community. The decision by the 5th Avenue parade organizers to include one group from NBC, while a step in the right direction, is still not inclusive enough. The mayor hopes more progress can be made soon, and the parade will be more inclusive in the future, and if that happens he will be happy to participate. But until then, he will continue to decline to march.

He does have a point. One out of 300 is hardly a bastion of equality, and I’m impressed with De Blasio’s persistence in standing up for equal opportunities for all of his constituents. The Catholic Church’s views on matters like homesexuality and contraception have loosened in recent years under the leadership of Pope Francis, but the parade’s outdated lack of acceptance is not representative of that. De Blasio and others’ boycott of the parade sends a message to officials that they’ve made a nice start but they can do better still.

Alexis Evans

Alexis Evans is an Assistant Editor at Law Street and a Buckeye State native. She has a Bachelor’s Degree in Journalism and a minor in Business from Ohio University. Contact Alexis at aevans@LawStreetMedia.com.

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Good news for those who are both gay and have Irish pride: next year, New York City will allow LGBT groups to march in the St. Patricks Day parade with their own banners. Previously, there had been a ban on allowing gay groups to join in the famous event, which is the biggest in the world. The ban wasn’t specifically on LGBT people — they were allowed to march as long they were with other groups and weren’t carrying any sort of banners marking them as gay — but this was still clearly discriminatory.

The ban on gay groups marching in the parade was causing a lot of problems for the organizers — liberal Mayor Bill de Blasio did not want to march as long as the ban was in place, and Guinness refused to sponsor. Heineken withdrew its support as well. Other businesses have also threatened to take away their support if action was not taken.

Somewhat surprisingly, the decision was actually met without protest from many Catholics. In recent years, the Catholic Church has begun embracing LGBT people as individuals, while still standing against the possibility of gay marriage on an institutional level. The allowance of gay groups at the parade is another example of that shift. As the always delightful Stephen Colbert points out, everyone’s pretty much on board with the new rule:

Cardinal Timothy Dolan will actually be the grand marshal for next year’s parade, and he’s given his full support to the change in policy, stating:

My predecessors and I have always left decisions on who would march to the organizers of the individual parades. As I do each year, I look forward to celebrating Mass in honor of Saint Patrick, the Patron Saint of Ireland, and the Patron Saint of this Archdiocese, to begin the feast, and pray that the parade would continue to be a source of unity for all of us.

The decision was mostly welcomed by the gay community. It was called a good small step by the Staten Island LGBT Community Center, whose communications manager Emilie Tippens said she hoped for a ripple effect to emerge in other circumstances where LGBT people face discrimination. However, the move did receive some ire from members of the LGBT community. Gay leaders claim that the parade rules were changed not because the organizers actually realized the error of their ways, but because they were forced to by financial and publicity concerns. As a spokesperson for the Human Rights Campaign, Fed Sainz, explained:

In one of the world’s most diverse and inclusive cities, not to allow gay people to march was becoming an anachronistic decision that they could no longer reasonably justify.

While that may be true, it is still a good thing that gay groups will be allowed to march in the parade. The parade is a big draw, and a massive celebration, and for anyone to be restricted is truly a disservice.

—

Anneliese Mahoney (@AMahoney8672) is Lead Editor at Law Street and a Connecticut transplant to Washington D.C. She has a Bachelor’s degree in International Affairs from the George Washington University, and a passion for law, politics, and social issues. Contact Anneliese at amahoney@LawStreetMedia.com.

Featured image courtesy of [DonkeyHotey via Flickr]

Anneliese Mahoney

Anneliese Mahoney is Managing Editor at Law Street and a Connecticut transplant to Washington D.C. She has a Bachelor’s degree in International Affairs from the George Washington University, and a passion for law, politics, and social issues. Contact Anneliese at amahoney@LawStreetMedia.com.

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