It’s “such an important way for these two communities to come together,” said Watts, whose group also has members joining other parades.Īt San Francisco’s parade, a “We’re Orlando” group of about 300 people will be fourth in the lineup.
A man rides his bike along the pride parade route on June 26. She and 19-year-old daughter Emma, who is gay, plan to join about 200 other people behind the group’s banner in the parade. “As the mom of a gay teen, Orlando terrified me,” says Shannon Watts, the founder of Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America. And gun-control, anti-gun-violence groups have joined the lineup since the shooting forged new bonds between them and gay-rights activists. Marchers will carry 49 orange flags - the color of choice for campaigns against gun violence - through the route.Ī “We Are Orlando” solidarity group has been added to the lineup. The lead float in New York’s parade will be dedicated to the Orlando victims. He also said New York would erect a monument in honor of all victims of hate and intolerance, including those killed in Orlando. Andrew Cuomo announced that the Stonewall Inn would be designated as a state historic site. A 1969 police raid on the bar helped catalyze the gay rights movement.Īnd just before the start of the parade, Democratic Gov. Sunday’s parades also have a new milestone to mark: President Barack Obama on Friday designated the site around New York City’s Stonewall Inn as the first national monument to gay rights. And I was, like, I’m going, to show my support.” “My dad was, like, I’m worried after Orlando. She said she brushed aside her father’s concerns in showing up. Police guard the pride parade route on June 26. She’d planned to come anyway, “but what happened in Orlando made me want to come more,” said Restrepo, swathed in a multicolored scarf. That included Chelsea Restrepo, 15, of Staten Island, who came to the march for the first time. In New York City, pre-parade activities included a handful of people walking down traffic-free Fifth Avenue holding banners with photos of those who died.Īuthorities expected a larger than usual crowd. Paradegoers will see increased security, anti-violence messages and tributes to those killed in Orlando. history.Ĭelebrations planned around such themes as supporting transgender people and pressing for economic justice have quickly taken on new meanings. Sunday’s parades in New York, San Francisco and other cities are unfolding two weeks after an Orlando gay nightclub became the site of the nation’s deadliest mass shooting in modern U.S.
“If we change our event - if we make everything somber - it’s, in many ways, allowing those who wish to silence us to win.” “But that’s also why it’s so important that we are out and loud and proud. “Last year was such a celebratory time, and this year, we have this happening,” says James Fallarino, a spokesman for organizers of the New York parade, one of the nation’s oldest. Onlookers lined up early and police ramped up security Sunday to get ready for New York City’s famous gay pride parade, a march that would be both a celebration of barriers breached and a remembrance of the lives lost in a shooting at a gay nightclub in Florida. Teacher yanked US flag from class, encouraged students to pledge to gay pride banner Straight women: You could be lesbian and not realize it, TikTok says 'The Eyes of Tammy Faye': How a Bible thumper became a gay advocate and icon