St. Patrick's © Cody Scanlan/Holland Sentinel / USA TODAY NETWORK
Syndication: hollandsentinel.com
(New York, NY) — Staten Island will hold a gay friendly St. Patrick’s Day parade in March, where LGBTQ groups will be able to take part. For years, the LGBTQ groups have been excluded from the long-running official St Patrick’s day parade. The inclusive march celebrating Irish pride will take place March 17th. The traditional parade, that bans LGBTQ groups is still set to step off on March 2nd. Mayor Adams says he will attend the inclusive parade.
Staten Island District Attorney Michael McMahon, along with other local lawmakers have sat out the official parade over the last few years, because it excludes LGBTQ marchers. McMahon says he will take part in the gay-friendly parade, which the Forest Avenue Business Improvement District is paying for. The organizers of the traditional Staten Island St. Patrick’s Day Parade say the LGBTQ ban in place matches the teachings of the Catholic Church.
