This Pride is a damn shame.<\/p>\n
NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch ripped organizers of this weekend\u2019s city Pride March for banning LGBT cops from participating in uniform even though the festivities are relying on police for security. \u00a0<\/p>\n
There will be a police presence at the event Sunday. Brigitte Stelzer<\/p>\n
Tisch and Adams both criticized the decision. Matthew McDermott<\/p>\n
NYPD band marching in Queens Pride Parade. Kevin C Downs forThe New York Post<\/p>\n
\u201cIt is deeply offensive that for the fifth year in a row, the NYPD\u2019s gay officers\u2019 action league is banned from fully participating in the New York City Pride March,\u201d the top cop said during a press briefing Friday.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt is the height of hypocrisy that uniformed officers are fit to line the parade route and keep everyone safe, but they are unable to march in their own uniform and under their own banner.\u201d<\/p>\n
The event organizer, Heritage of Pride, first informed the Gay Officer Action League (GOAL) in 2021 its members would not be allowed to march in the parade during a wave of George Floyd anti-cop sentiment.<\/p>\n
The ban was supposed to initially last four years before the organization would reconsider its prohibition. Getty Images<\/p>\n
The ban was supposed to initially last four years before the organization would reconsider its prohibition.<\/p>\n
Det. Brian Downey, president of GOAL, argued the policy makes \u201cqueer officers vanish, while the same institution is asked to secure the march.\u201d<\/p>\n
Gay members of the New York City Police Department prepare to march in the annual Queens Gay Pride Parade in 2023. Corbis via Getty Images<\/p>\n
\u201cThe ones being asked to stay out of sight are us, the gay, the trans, the queer, and our allied officers who have risked everything to serve both this city and this community. It is not about safety, it is about exclusion\u201d Downey said. <\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019ve heard the justifications. We\u2019ve heard that it\u2019s about safe spaces and community trauma, and we respect and we acknowledge that that trauma is real.\u00a0But this policy does not create safety. It creates friction and fiction.\u201d<\/p>\n
The event organizer, Heritage of Pride, first informed the Gay Officer Action League (GOAL) in 2021 its members would not be allowed to march in the parade during a wave of George Floyd anti-cop sentiment. AP<\/p>\n
Heritage of Pride said in a statement following the police briefing it rejected GOAL from marching because the law enforcement group wanted its officer to march with \u201cthe concealed carry of their firearm.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cGOAL, the Gay Officers Action League, asked for an exception to our weapon policy so their members could march in their full dress uniforms \u2013 which includes the concealed carry of their firearm,\u201d a Pride spokesperson said. <\/p>\n
\u201cOur membership voted this year to continue our policy for all Marchers without any exceptions for GOAL or other organizations.\u201d<\/p>\n
Heritage of Pride said in a statement it rejected GOAL from marching because the law enforcement group wanted its officer to march with \u201cthe concealed carry of their firearm.\u201d AFP via Getty Images<\/p>\n
Downey, of GOAL, dismissed that rationale because he said police officers are mandated to carry a concealed firearm when in full uniform.<\/p>\n
\u201c<\/strong>Armed NYPD Officers will still be present, just not visible as the Gay Officers Action League,\u201d he said in a statement late Friday afternoon.<\/p>\n \u201cThis makes the decision about optics and not safety. It is about making us invisible, not making others safer.\u201d<\/p>\n Brian Downey (center), the head of the Gay Officers Action League Matthew McDermott<\/p>\n Tisch said she had \u201cproductive\u201d talks with Heritage of Pride ahead of the parade, but at the \u201c11th hour\u201d she was told cops could not march in uniform two weeks ago.<\/p>\n \u201cI was shocked,\u201d she said, adding organizers did not provide a reason for the prohibition. <\/p>\n Mayor Eric Adams said at the briefing he doesn\u2019t understand the logic.<\/p>\n Tisch said she had \u201cproductive\u201d talks with Heritage of Pride ahead of the parade, but at the \u201c11th hour\u201d she was told cops could not march in uniform two weeks ago. AFP via Getty Images<\/p>\n \u201cI truly support what GOAL is pushing for,\u201d Hizzoner said. \u201cThe organizers made this decision, members of the LGBTQ+ community and the city \u2014 they are not making that decision.\u201d<\/p>\n