Since 2021, uniformed officers, including the Gay Officers Action League, or GOAL, have been banned from marching in the official Pride March.

This year, that ban was lifted, but there’s still a standoff.

“It is deeply offensive that for the fifth year in a row, the NYPD’s Gay Officers Action League is banned from fully participating in the New York City Pride March,” Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch said.

What You Need To Know

  • Since 2021, uniformed officers, including the Gay Officers Action League, or GOAL, have been banned from marching in the official Pride March

  • This year, that ban was lifted, but LGBTQ officers say they will not march

  • The impasse comes down to weapons. Officers want to march in full uniform, and for NYPD officers, that uniform includes their gun
  • Heritage of Pride, which runs the event, says GOAL is welcome in the march but no one gets to carry guns, not even queer cops

The impasse comes down to weapons.

GOAL wants to march in full uniform, and for NYPD officers, that uniform includes their gun.

Heritage of Pride, which runs the event, says no one gets to carry guns, not even queer cops.

“We were told our presence, our visibility, makes people uncomfortable,” GOAL President Detective Brain Downey said. “They’re asking us to protect Pride, but telling some of us that we cannot be part in it.”

In a statement, Heritage of Pride called that a mischaracterization, saying GOAL is welcome at the march, but the weapons aren’t.

“The Gay Officers Action League asked for an exception to our weapon policy so their members could march in their full dress uniforms — which includes the concealed carry of their firearm. Our membership voted this year to continue our policy for all Marchers without any exceptions for GOAL or other organizations,” the statement said.

For all the noise about badges and bullets, many at the Drag March in the East Village on Friday agreed with Heritage of Pride.

“We don’t need cops at Pride,” Bed-Stuy resident Ari Rosenbaum said.

Others said bigger battles are being overshadowed.

“I just think that, you know, anybody who’s gay and of the community should be on the march because it’s about us. And I think when they take us apart, we’re more separate than we are same,” Chelsea resident Michael Angelo said.

This Pride comes just weeks after the National Suicide Lifeline announced it was ending tailored support for LGBTQ youth.

And, as of Friday, a Supreme Court ruling now lets some parents pull their kids from lessons mentioning LGBTQ stories.

The Defense Department is also stripping the name of Harvey Milk — a slain gay rights icon — from a Navy ship.

“It’s important for us to be able to come together to remind us that we have each other’s back, remind us how diverse and how amazing the queer community is how, we traverse all lines,” Sister Lotti Da, organizer of the Drag March, said.

With more than 1 million people expected along the march’s route on Sunday, according to organizers, GOAL officers will be there too, saying they will not participate in the march.