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| Melissa! A progressive City Council has been so long coming. |
Now we await the response of the NYPD and FDNY Commissioners to our request to uphold human rights law -- we asked them last week, and gave them till tomorrow to reply. (We've been here before... Ray Kelly never even acknowledged the communication. But then, he had been Grand Marshal of the parade the year prior. And the City Council hadn't just laid bare the issue. That was then.)
Irish Queers' Jennifer Flynn said:
"The Speaker's move to expand the boycott of the parade is really welcome -- the City Council can and must take a stronger stand on this than individually staying out of the parade. New Yorkers have sent a strong message to our electeds. We want progressive leadership that is willing to take a stand for social justice.
We've also asked the NYPD and FDNY Commissioners to withdraw their permission for uniformed cops and firefighters to march, which is their obligation -- we asked them to respond by tomorrow.
The City has to remove all traces of itself from this unapologetically homophobic parade. There's no question about the parade's message. It's so bigoted that the mere presence of identifiable queers is deeded "a political statement" against the parade. There's just no way for the City to participate without trampling its own human rights law."
And here's some of the early coverage:
Gay City News
City Council Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito will announce later today that the Council will not field a formal contingent in this year’s St. Patrick’s Day Parade on Fifth Avenue, Gay City News has learned.
Wall Street Journal (blog)
The New York City Council will not participate “as an institution” in the St. Patrick's Day Parade on Fifth Avenue because of the parade organizers' rules effectively barring gay groups from marching, the council's new speaker said Tuesday. Speaker Melissa ...
Gothamist
City Council Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito announced today that the City Council will not officially participate in the Manhattan St. Patrick's Day Parade on any level. The announcement comes in the wake of Mayor Bill de Blasio's commitment to boycott the ...
New York's PIX11 / WPIX-TV
NEW YORK (PIX11) – Council Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito announced Tuesday that the City Council will not be attending this year's St. Patrick's Day Parade because the parade does not allow groups with LGBT signs to march. “The St. Patrick's Parade ...
Wall Street Journal
NEW YORK — The New York City Council won't have an official presence at the city's St. Patrick's Day parade this year because of rules that prevent gay and lesbian groups from identifying themselves while marching, Council Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito ...
Politicker
Following Mayor Bill de Blasio announcement that he will break with a recent tradition and refuse to march in the Fifth Avenue St. Patrick's Day parade, the City Council has announced it will do the same. Citing the parade's exclusion of openly gay participants ...
... march in the gay-friendly St. Pats for All 2013 parade in Queens. Credit Spencer T. Tucker/ Mayor's Office. The New York City Council won't attend this year's St. Patrick's Day parade, following Mayor Bill de Blasio's decision to skip it himself.
New York Daily News (blog)
“This City Council is committed to celebrating and respecting the diversity of New York City and that is why we've decided to not participate in the parade. I hope the organizers will eventually realize that the parade will be better when all New Yorkers can ...
About - Cities & Towns
Today, CBS News also announced, "New York City Council Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito said the council won't have an official presence at this year's St. Patrick's Day Parade because of rules that prevent gay and lesbian groups from identifying themselves ...
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