New York City Pride Officially Bans NYPD, Must Stay At Least One Block Away From All Events
Source - Organizers of New York City’s Pride events said Saturday they are banning police and other law enforcement from marching in their huge annual parade until at least 2025 and will also seek to keep on-duty officers a block away from the celebration of LGBTQ people and history.
In their statement, NYC Pride urged members of law enforcement to “acknowledge their harm and to correct course moving forward.”
It will also increase the event's security budget to boost the presence of community-based security and first responders while reducing the police department's presence.
Police will provide first response and security “only when absolutely necessary as mandated by city officials,” the group said, adding it hoped to keep police officers at least one city block away from event perimeter areas where possible.
Let me start by saying I think this is a mistake. I think there's a ton of misguided anger towards police right now and I think that a lot of it comes from people who's hearts are in the right place. Unfortunately, having your heart in the right place doesn't negate the facts, including the fact the NYPD has had an overwhelmingly positive relationship with NYC Pride for decades. The reason why police and protestors clashed during last year's Pride was because last year's Pride was cancelled and people showed up anyway, not because the people there were gay. Crowds formed during a global pandemic while a city was on lockdown and the police attempted to disperse it. That said, the way they dispersed it was wildly inappropriate, but let's not act like the reason they were there in the first place is because they're anti-pride.
Here's what I had to say on the pod...
Which brings me to my main point- what are we accomplishing by banning the police? Gay officers aren't allowed to march and all officers aren't allowed to be within one block of all events. What good does that do? What message does that send? We answer those questions and more on this week's Out & About which you can listen to HERE.
We also break down the statements given by the Gay Officers Action League and NYPD regarding the situation...
Detective Sophia Mason, a spokesperson for the New York Police Department, said on Saturday the department's “annual work to ensure a safe, enjoyable Pride season has been increasingly embraced by its participants.”
She added: "The idea of officers being excluded is disheartening and runs counter to our shared values of inclusion and tolerance. That said, we’ll still be there to ensure traffic safety and good order during this huge, complex event.”
Word of the ban came out Friday when the Gay Officers Action League said in a release it was disheartened by the decision.
The group called the ban an “abrupt about-face” and said the decision “to placate some of the activists in our community is shameful.”
Oh, and Kate's back too…