(
New York Post) New York’s St. Patrick’s Day Parade will finally end its ban on gay
groups marching in its annual Irish celebration, organizers said
Wednesday.
OUT@NBCUniversal — a lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender affinity
group at 30 Rock — will be flying its banner and marching up Fifth
Avenue on March 17, officials said.
That’ll be the only gay group marching in the 2015 version of the
world’s largest St. Patrick’s Day Parade, but other LGBT groups can
apply in future years, spokesman Bill O’Reilly said.
The organizing committee said this move to “change of tone and
expanded inclusiveness is a gesture of goodwill to the LGBT community in
our continuing effort to keep the parade above politics.”
OUT@NBCUniversal applied to be in the St. Patrick’s Day Parade,
according to Craig Robinson, executive vice president and chief
diversity officer at NBCUniversal.
It wasn’t immediately clear why OUT@NBCUniversal was chosen or if there were any other openly gay groups that applied.
“We welcome the parade committee’s decision to accept
OUT@NBCUniversal’s application to march and enthusiastically embrace the
gesture of inclusion,” Robinson said.
“Our employees, families and friends look forward to joining in this time-honored celebration of Irish culture and heritage.”
Organizers insisted they are “remaining loyal to church teachings,”
and O’Reilly said Cardinal Timothy Dolan — grand marshal of the 2015
parade — was “very supportive” of including gay groups in the event.
In a prepared statement Wednesday, Dolan didn’t outright endorse the
move — but said the parade remains “close to its Catholic heritage.”
“Neither my predecessors as archbishop of New York nor I have ever
determined who would or would not march in this parade (or any of the
other parades that march along Fifth Avenue, for that matter),” he said,
“but have always appreciated the cooperation of parade organizers in
keeping the parade close to its Catholic heritage.”
“I know that there are thousands and thousands of gay people marching
in this parade,” Dolan has said previously. “And I’m glad they are.”
Over the years, the parade’s ban on openly gay groups has grown problematic.
Mayor Bill de Blasio refused to march in this past year’s parade, and Guinness beer withdrew as a sponsor.
The Guinness loss was a huge factor in forcing parade organizers to
change their long-standing policy, a former grand marshal told
IrishCentral.com.
Guinness officials also played a role in brokering the deal that
brought OUT@NBCUniversal into the 2015 parade, according to
IrishCentral.com.
“Once an iconic company like Guinness showed it was standing up,
pretty much everyone else had to follow,” the one-time grand marshal
said.
Obviously, gay individuals have always marched in the St. Patrick’s
Day Parade — but they’ve never before been allowed to participate under a
banner identifying them as gay.
About 320 groups will be marching in the 2015 parade, the committee said.
“Organizers have diligently worked to keep politics — of any kind —
out of the parade in order to preserve it as a single and unified
cultural event,” organizers said. “Paradoxically, that ended up
politicizing the parade.”
Politicians, city workers in uniform, marching bands, bagpipers and
Irish dancers have all been stalwarts of the parade, which began in
1762.
Gay rights advocates hailed Wednesday’s announcement but said it was long overdue.
“It’s about time,” said GLAAD president and CEO Sarah Kate Ellis.
“Discrimination has no place on America’s streets, least of all on
Fifth Avenue. As an Irish-Catholic American, I look forward to a fully
inclusive St. Patrick’s Day Parade that I can share with my wife and
children, just as my own parents shared with me.”
City Council Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito — who, like de Blasio, did
not march in this year’s parade over the gay flap — hailed the
organizers’ move.
“This is a welcome first step and a good day for New Yorkers who
believe in fairness, equality, and human rights,” she said. “For far too
long, the St. Patrick’s Day Parade excluded New Yorkers just because of
who they [want] to love. I am happy organizers finally realized that
this parade is better when all are invited.”
Former City Council Speaker Christine Quinn, who is openly gay, said
parade organizers have lifted a “terrible mark of discrimination and
bigotry” by allowing a gay group to march.
“Today faith had been rewarded. After close to 25 years of struggle
and hard work, the terrible mark of discrimination and bigotry has
finally been lifted from Fifth Avenue and the St. Patrick’s Day Parade,”
said the one-time mayoral hopeful.
“All of the members of the LGBT community and our allies deserve
great thanks for never giving up and remaining committed, proud, and
strong. I also want to wholeheartedly thank [parade organizers] the
[Ancient Order of Hibernians] and Cardinal Dolan for taking this
important step forward.”
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Photo: Reuters 
