Two Gay Groups Marched In Boston’s St. Patrick’s Day Parade– and Into History

Here’s something to celebrate–for the first time in 114 years, two LGBT groups marched in Boston’s St. Patrick’s Day parade on Sunday. OutVets and Boston Pride marched in the parade and ended a 20-year ban on gay groups.

Via The Associated Press & Towleroad: 

“We march today for the memories of those thousands and thousands of people who went before us, some who went to their graves in the closet,” OutVets founder and leader and Air Force veteran Bryan Bishop told his group before the parade. He called it “the beginning of the mission of this organization to honor the service and sacrifice of every single LGBT veteran, their family, their allies and every veteran in this country who fought so selflessly to defend the rights that we hold dear.” …

Boston Pride member Freddy Murphy said the open inclusion of gay groups was a long time coming.

“I just remember watching the parade and kind of thinking it was hopeless, that my entire world was against me,” said Murphy, a Dorchester neighborhood native whose father was a Boston firefighter. “This is why I’m marching today.”

The parade also marked another milestone as it was the first time in 20 years that a mayor of Boston marched in the parade. Mayors and politicians boycotted the event every year since 1995 when the U.S. Supreme Court upheld the right of the Allied War Veterans Council, which organizes the parade, to keep gay groups out. Mayor Marty Walsh, along with Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker and Congressman Seth Moulton marched with OutVets.

“I’m thrilled that the St. Patrick’s Day parade is inclusive this year, and the addition of Boston Pride to the list of participants reflects the values of the South Boston neighborhood,” Walsh said in a statement. “With this year’s parade, Boston is putting years of controversy behind us.”

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