Posted on 08/18/2009 8:13:50 PM PDT by nickcarraway
A decade ago, the idea of staging a gay pride event in the Bronx was unheard of.
Today, organizers say a new day is dawning in the borough as neighbors and even some elected officials are supporting the LGBT (Lesbian Gay Bisexual Transgender) community's fourth annual Bronx Pride Festival, to be held Saturday at Baretto Point Park in Hunts Point. Along with featured performers and information booths about HIV prevention and gay marriage, this year's Pride Festival will be more family oriented, with booths for cotton candy, clowns making balloon animals and other entertainment. "We are seeing this year's Pride [Festival] as a family day," said Lisa Winters, event organizer and executive director of the Bronx Community Pride Center. "It's a chance for the Bronx LGBT community to come together and celebrate our pride." It is not just organizers making changes by promoting gay families. There is a new political reality in Borough Hall. During the 13 years the center has held events, Winters could count on only a handful of elected officials to show up, most from Manhattan. District Attorney Robert Johnson and Congressman Jose Serrano were the only Bronx pols to speak at the center's fund-raisers. Three years ago, Winters accused then-Borough President Adolfo Carrión of making it difficult to obtain a permit for the Pride Festival. His successor appears to be creating a fresh start. Last month, newly elected Beep Ruben Diaz Jr. honored Bronx Pride Day with a proclamation presented to Winters. Diaz is the son of state Sen. Ruben Diaz, a Pentecostal minister who has long been an outspoken critic of gay marriage. Winters said the younger Diaz appears to be a supporter of equal treatment for all. "He is a definite friend to the LGBT community," she said. "It may be a new day, and the Bronx Community Pride Center is leading the effort toward full equality for the borough."
Winters said the borough president has encouraged her to apply for capital funds through his office. The only gay community center in the Bronx, it runs a host of programs - from services for runaways to HIV prevention and plans to educate doctors on LGBT issues.
"The LGBT community should receive all the services and resources available to the rest of the Bronxites. They need to be treated with respect and without discrimination," said Diaz.
They need a Bronx... cheer.
Nothing says “mainstream” more than when something is accepted in NY.
/s
The love that dares not speak its name can’t stop talking.
What exactly do they have pride in? I do not get it. I mean, heterosexuals do not going around putting their sexual preference in parades...that is SICK. I do not care what anyone thinks....homosexual pride is RIDICULOUS on its face!
Just wait until our “public option” gets the bill for the STDs that are spread by this one. I’m glad they see it as a victory to parade in an area Western Civilization wrote off decades ago...
A: Prison!
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.