Heritage of Pride, the group that organizes New York City Pride events each year, reversed it’s decision to ban gay armed police officers in uniform from marching in this year’s Pride Parade last night.
The original decision, announced last week, sparked days of controversy voiced by the Gay Officers Action League (GOAL). Last night the general membership voted to allow uniformed gay officers to march in the parade.
“By a 55-40% margin (5% abstaining), they voted to let GOAL march in uniform with concealed weapons but NOT to have an ‘NYPD’ contingent in the parade,” wrote Andrew Humm on Facebook. “Andre Thomas, the co-chair, resigned as did some other people of color at the meeting who were left in tears.”
But shortly after midnight, the HOP Executive Board announced they had reversed the reversal, saying they “voted to set a new policy regarding GOAL’s participation in an effort to be mindful and focus on our mission of creating safe space for marginalized communities.”
“It fell under our purview to do so, as elected representatives of this organization,” continued the board. “We firmly believe that this decision is in the best interest of our community.”
Having decided that LGB officers “will not march armed and in police uniforms,” the board shared it may consider discussing “the possibility of GOAL as a contingent marching out of uniform.”
In the announcement, the Executive Board of HOP cited past actions by police officers against LGBTQ people and POC as the reasons for excluding armed police officers in uniform from the event.
The NYPD, and policing across America, is fundamentally flawed. These are institutions started as slave patrols, and continue to oppress Black, Brown, Indigenous, POC, LGBTQ+ individuals, and individuals who stand at the intersections of these identities.
Over their lifetime, Black men have a 1 in 1000 chance of being killed by the police. LGBQ people are six times more likely to be stopped by the police.
Nearly 3 out of 4 of lethal anti-LGBT hate crimes committed against transwomen and girls.
Transgender individuals who survive violence are 3.7 times more likely to experience police violence compared to non-transgender survivors and7times more likely to experience physical violence when interacting with the police.
Until 2021, transpeople in New York could be arrested for wearing clothes that did not correspond with their sex assigned at birth. And after over 267 complaints related to abuse of force by NYPD when dealing with protesters, only two officers have faced serious disciplinary action.
The Executive Board noted that as Black Lives Matter protests spread across the nation following the murder of George Floyd and other Black men, NYC police officers attacked queer people who took part in the protests.
HOP also points out that the gay rights movement was born out of a vicious 1969 police raid on the Stonewall Inn gay bar.
That said, due to pressure from LGBTQ advocacy groups, the NYPD issued an official apology in 2019 for the 1969 raid as well as for years of brutal treatment of LGBTQ people in the city. In their statement last week, GOAL made note of the work being done by gay police officers to improve relations between police and the LGBTQ community.
On Tuesday, the New York Times editorial board penned an op-ed calling the banning of gay police officers by HOP a “misstep.” The editorial board wrote that the decision “disproportionately affects L.G.B.T.Q. police officers, many of whom have been fighting for reforms; they shouldn’t be judged, and even set back, by the worst behavior of their colleagues.”
(source: Facebook, NY Times)
I am in agreement with others who feel this ban is definitely a wrong move! As a gay & proud police officer I find it offensive that group who pleads for inclusion is using this excuse to exclude an entire group of individuals who want nothing more than to show their PRIDE in being who they are. Not to mention showing the city and world that we are everyone and everywhere! How small minded to try and label over 700K law enforcement officers as bad because of a few who actually are. Now, doesn’t that sound like the conservative right calling all of us pedophiles, recruiters, prostitutes, druggies and a threat to the “american” way of life for just being who we are?
If this bunch is going totally ‘woke” It wakes me up to longer support anything related to it. an organization that supports bringing in all factions of a community withall sorts of letters, they are adopting Marxist ideas…I don’t think that “Das Kapital” represents gay thinking of any kind. I take “pride” in recognizing someone’s right to their own opinion so I don’t appreciate it when told what my opinion should be. The high and the mighty are making our opinions for us. I am in full agreement that transgenders should not be lumped in with the gay community, and that black committee members should not be putting their own issues above those of the gay community. Transgenders and other outsiders can march, and not gay police????
So when Trumpers feel emboldened to attack LGBTQ persons because of the lack of police presence, who are you going to call, social workers? GTFOH w/ this non-sense. Way to alienate moderates and independent voters.
How to get everyone offside and reverse gains made in police / LGBT+ relations over the past decades. Everyone knows about police abuse of LGBT+ people IN THE PAST. Everyone knows about police abuse of PoC IN THE PRESENT. There was a time when no police in their right minds would be seen in a Pride parade.The optics of this move to exclude even LGBT police from participating in their own parade are appalling. The parade was not “made safe” by banning police.
Not good enough HOP. My check goes to GOAL! Your history on Policing is Wrong, do some research before putting a statement out that “slave patrols “ were the origin of policing. I am beginning to feel that any culture that was ever enslaved ( Oh, that’s all cultures at some point in history) will demand everything for free without earning it.
ONE RACE -> HUMAN !!!!
I think banning GOAL is absolutely the dumbest thing ever. I will no longer donate to gay causes. Also, transgenders should not be lumped in with normal gays. The black members of the members of HOP should put their focus on getting their own communities to stop hatingand stop committed crimes.
I absolutely agree with you on this Buddy.