"Meanwhile, Yesterday In Boston..."

Gay group marches in Boston Parade despite ban by organizers

Gay St. Patrick's Day Float Crashes Boston's Parade Despite Anti-Gay Policy

James Nichols
3/17/2014

Amid controversy surrounding the anti-gay St. Patrick's Day parades in New York City and Boston, a group of gay activists stealthily invaded the Boston parade with a pro-gay float.

The Boston Globe reports that a float bearing a rainbow cannon infiltrated the Boston St. Patrick's Day parade with a group of 30 marchers, the majority of whom were gay men. The marchers themselves reportedly brought roughly 500 pairs of green and rainbow color beads that were tossed to spectators in the crowd.

The truck pulling the float with the rainbow cannon reportedly bore a banner that read “Celebrate the diversity of Boston,” with the group having described itself as a "diversity float" through the parade's application process.

St. Patrick's Day festivities in New York City and Boston have a long-standing history of LGBT exclusion, leading Boston Mayor Martin Walsh to boycott yesterday's parade. In wake of the inability of parade organizers to successfully reach negotiations and allow gay veterans groups to march in the parade, Boston Beer, the company that manufactures Sam Adams beer, pulled out of the parade. In New York City, Heineken and Guinness rescinded support for the parade.

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And yes, this did make me smile...