Hundreds of thousands of people on Sunday packed gay pride events across the US from New York to San Francisco, with overall attendance expected in the millions for what amounted to a celebration of a freshly endorsed right to marry.
In San Francisco, a parade that at times resembled a rainbow-colored dance party snaked through downtown. Cheerleaders, dancers and proud families of lesbians and gays swooped up Market Street as spectators lined both sides of the street. There were “Hooray for Gay” and “Love Won” signs, and rainbow-colored flags, knee socks, umbrellas and tutus.
San Francisco Pride Board president Gary Virginia said the exuberance was amplified given Friday’s US Supreme Court ruling that same-sex couples can wed in all 50 states. Still, he said more needs to be done in housing and job discrimination in the US and for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people around the world.
Photo: AFP
“Today, we celebrate,” Virginia said. “Tomorrow, we get back to work.”
In New York City, organizers expected about 22,000 people to march, while in San Francisco, organizers put the number at 26,000.
New York Governor Andrew Cuomo used newly granted powers to officiate at the wedding ceremony of a same-sex couple in Manhattan. It was held in front of the Stonewall Inn, where in 1969 gay bar patrons stood up to a police raid, launching the modern gay rights movement.
New York State law did not allow Cuomo to officiate at wedding ceremonies until last week. The authority to do so was granted as part of a slew of legislation passed days ago.
Derek Jacobi and Ian McKellen, two of Britain’s most famous openly gay actors, served as the grand marshals of New York City’s parade.
At gay pride parades in Paris and other cities outside the US on Saturday, the Supreme Court’s ruling was hailed by many as a watershed.
“Soon, in all countries, we will be able to marry,” said Celine Schlewitz, a 25-year-old nurse taking part in the Paris parade. “Finally a freedom for everyone.”
Street celebrations were boosted on Saturday in Dublin, where Ireland mounted the biggest gay rights parade in the nation’s history.
More than 60,000 people paraded at the culmination of a week-long gay rights festival in the Irish capital. While the mood was already high following Ireland’s referendum last month to legalize gay marriage — becoming the first nation to do so by popular vote — many marchers said the Supreme Court ruling provided a bonus reason to celebrate.
Additional reporting by AFP
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