Posted on 06/30/2002 7:35:05 PM PDT by southern rock
Gay Pride Parades Held Around U.S.
Sun Jun 30, 8:25 PM ET
By MARGIE MASON, Associated Press Writer
SAN FRANCISCO - Thousands of rainbows appeared under the blue sky Sunday as an estimated half million people lined the streets to celebrate diversity and progress during the city's 32nd annual gay pride parade.
The people were just as colorful as the flags they waved — gay, straight, young and old. Some wore leather, feathers, or held balloons while others sported little more than a smile.
The Dykes on Bikes, a rumbling motorcade of several hundred women on motorcycles, kicked off the event followed by their quieter, male counterparts pedaling bicycles as part of the Mikes on Bikes.
But mixed in with the fun, the parade also had a serious side outlining battles such as AIDS ( news - web sites), domestic partner benefits and hate crimes that still have a long way to go in the gay community's struggle to obtain equal rights.
Jean Fichtenkort, a lesbian from Berkeley, was there with her 16-month-old adopted son, Michael Heffner. She and her partner of 14 years have attended many parades, and she's thrilled they keep getting bigger.
"We're very fortunate to live here and we know it," she said. "Little by little the changes are happening and when he's an adult, it's going to be nothing."
Actor Sir Ian McKellen, who starred in "The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring" and "Gods and Monsters," served as one of the parade's celebrity grand marshals in his first San Francisco parade. Wearing a long white coat and waving the British flag, he leaped from his silver convertible and raced to hug and kiss a group of bare-chested men standing on the sidewalk.
"For generations the people in San Francisco have set standards for the rest of the world to catch up to," said McKellen, who decided to come out in 1988 while performing Shakespeare here.
Alice Hoglan also marched in support of her son, Mark Bingham, who was believed to have helped thwart the terrorists on Sept. 11 aboard Flight 93. A day earlier, Bingham's rugby team won the Bingham Cup, an international gay tournament held in his honor.
San Francisco wasn't the only city that closed off the streets to party — celebrations were under way across the nation, including New York, Chicago, Atlanta, Seattle and Minneapolis.
Hundreds of thousands also turned out for Chicago's 33rd annual parade, which marks the end of Gay and Lesbian Pride Month designated by Mayor Richard Daley.
In New York, Mayor Michael Bloomberg was applauded as he marched near the front of the parade.
"That's what makes New York so great, that everyone can live here and live here together, can build a career, can express themselves and can celebrate the greatness that is New York," he said.
Tens of thousands of spectators lined the Fifth Avenue parade route to cheer the marchers.
Some 50 same-sex couples kicked off the parade with a mass wedding at Fifth Avenue and Central Park South. The ceremony performed by clergy of several faiths was not legally binding but served as a rallying point for activists who would like to see gay couples accorded the same rights as heterosexual couples.
In a related story from the South Florida Sun-Sentinel last week:
4 NYPD officers honored at annual gay pride festival
By Peter Bernard
Staff Writer
Posted June 24 2002
As an officer in the 6th Precinct of the New York City Police Department on Sept. 11, Terence Torres saw many of his comrades die, and became one of many heroes in the aftermath of the attacks.
The gay officer's precinct includes the Stonewall Inn, where in 1969 police raids sparked three days of violent protests and marked the birth of the modern gay rights movement.
"It's an honor to serve the community where all of this happened," said Torres, who was the grand marshal in the Stonewall Street Festival and Parade in Wilton Manors on Sunday. "I love being a good representative for the community."
Torres and three other gay NYPD officers were honored at the parade and festival for their contributions to their communities in New York. "I love Fort Lauderdale," Torres said. "The gay community here is very supportive."
The third annual festival was sponsored by Pride of Fort Lauderdale, an activist group that kicked the day off by organizing a 48-float parade from Fort Lauderdale High School east on Wilton Drive to Dixie Highway.
Hundreds gathered on Wilton Drive, crowding around vendor booths, watching entertainers on stage and sharing umbrellas during the day's frequent downpours.
"We're trying not to let the rain get us down," said Mauro Montoya, a spokesman for Pride of Greater Fort Lauderdale.
Parade participants included the Flamingo Freedom Band, the Dolphin Democratic Club and Miss Illusion South Florida, Ginger Snapped. The drag queen, sporting a strapless black evening gown, waved to her admirers from the back of a pickup truck.
Onlookers also cheered and waved as supporters of Florida Democratic gubernatorial candidate Janet Reno waved placards in the air.
"This parade has been very fun to watch," said Fort Lauderdale resident Kay Kaufholtz. "It's very nice to see the pride and power of the gay community."
The street festival featured live entertainment and 176 vendors, stretching from Northeast 21st Court to Ninth Avenue.
Between the parade and festival and the annual convention of the International Gay & Lesbian Travel Association in town this weekend, event organizers were expecting a turnout of about 25,000.
"It has been a wonderful process to watch this festival and parade grow and evolve and become such an important event for the community," Montoya said. "We have everything from signers to dancers and politicians here today."
Pride of Greater Fort Lauderdale formed in January 2000, and originated from the nonprofit Pride of South Florida, organizers of the annual PrideFest that takes place every February in Fort Lauderdale.
A percentage of proceeds from the festival and parade are donated to the Gay and Lesbian Community Center and Tuesday's Angels.
Peter Bernard can be reached at pbernard@sun-sentinel.com or 954-356-4525.
Copyright © 2002, South Florida Sun-Sentinel
Since when did my esteemed name become a synonym for male homosexuals?
More like celebrate perversity
Hey, I'm a Mike too, so believe me when I say I have NO FRIGGIN' IDEA!!
Time to start a petition for straight pride month. Who could legally argue?
LOL. My husband said people go to see the zoo, and not to support the sodomites. It's a zoo without a cover charge and makes a great setting for some really great jokes.
Most people go for the laughs!
I'd say he has a good point.
"Onlookers also cheered and waved as supporters of Florida Democratic gubernatorial candidate Janet Reno waved placards in the air.
I'd have to agree.
These "Gay Pride" parades sound a whole lot like a bunch of deviants just whistling past the grave yard.
What a great place for the U.S. to test the side effects of nuclear bombs.
RINO jerk! (but we knew that already)
Ah, yes, those key Democrat buzzwords, "diversity" and "progress". IOW, must celebrate all abnormal, but must poo-poo the normal. Pervs.
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