Boston’s mayor decided not to march in his city’s annual St. Patrick’s Day parade on March 16 after being unable to convince the running organization to allow a gay and lesbian activist group to march as well.
Irish-American Mayor Marty Walsh attempted to make a deal with the Allied War Veteran’s Council, which conducts the parade every year, to allow MassEquality, the biggest gay and lesbian activist group in Massachusetts, to openly march in the parade.
“As mayor of the city of Boston, I have to do my best to ensure that all Bostonians are free to participate fully in the civic life of our city,” Mayor Walsh said. “Unfortunately, this year, the parties were not able to come to an understanding that would have made that possible.”
According to Yahoo News, the Allied War Veteran’s Council, which is a conservative group, argued that allowing the group to march runs against their Roman Catholic beliefs.
Boston.com reports that the parade organization stated that gay people are welcome to march on Sunday, but do not want the parade to be affiliated with any particular political group.
Image: Wikimedia Commons
