PRIDE Parade Organizers Ban Police From Participating, So Firefighters Pull Out
by Tom GantertOrganizers of the Madison PRIDE parade have told LGBT police groups to stay home and refunded their participation fees.
Madison, WI - The organizers of a LGBT PRIDE parade in Wisconsin banned law enforcement agency organizations from participating in the march.
Ironically, the OutReach LGBT Community Center said that armed uniformed Madison Police Department officers would still work to provide security for the parade, according to WMTV-TV.
Police employees who want to march have to do it in plain clothes, or wear a special T-shirt and not carry their weapon, according to WSAU radio.
Michael Ruiz, president of the OutReach LGBT Community Center, confirmed that the police were uninvited to participate in the Aug. 19 parade in a statement.
“Our community is facing complex, unprecedented times, where power is a fleeting commodity for our most vulnerable members, especially queer and transgender persons of color,” Ruiz said, according to WMTV. “The OutReach Board of Directors have unanimously decided to withdraw the Pride Parade applications from the Madison Police Department (MPD) Employee Resource Group (ERG)/University of Wisconsin Police Department (UWPD) ERG, and Dane County Sheriff Dave Mahoney.”
“These contingents will not march in the 2018 OutReach Pride Parade and we will be refunding all monies collected from the contingents,” he said.
“We recognize that not everyone will be happy with this decision,” Ruiz continued. “It is our hope that those who are hurt by this decision use that hurt for growth and to approach that hurt with humility, rather than retaliate or create further divisions between those with institutional power and those struggling to exist.”
In show of support for the police department, the Madison Fire Department group that had registered for the parade announced they would not be participating.
“In light of the disappointing decision by OutReach to rescind the invitation to the Madison Police Department to participate in this year’s Pride Parade, the Madison Fire Department, in solidarity with our women and men in blue, must respectfully and regretfully decline to participate in this year’s parade,” the fire department wrote in a press release posted on the city’s website.
Madison Mayor Paul Soglin supported the fire department’s decision to not participate in the rally, according to the statement.
41 Responses
THEDUKE
Aug 25, 2018 ok,got it ...let me see if I understand,...... parade for outreach but are actually exclusionary, embracing diversity but only provided you agree with them, among God's people but ignoring what the Bible repeatedly mentions about homosexuality , exclude Police but Firefighters are ok , needing to broadcast vs. using discretion, the barometric pressure needs to be between 30.4 and no less than 29.6, temperature needs to be between 75 and 88, completely sunny to partly cloudy skies, the square root of the perpendicular bisector is 34, and when in doubt please refer to page 29 paragraph 4 of the rule book..........jeesh...... this stuff is worse than Physics.
Alex208
Aug 24, 2018 I don't have problems with people being gay. They can't help it.. but stop parading around and shoving your lifestyle in our faces. Why can't they just exist like everyone else?
spclopr8tr
Aug 22, 2018 The sign in the picture for this article shows the blatant hypocricy of these people "embracing diversity among God's people" when you exclude certain categories of God's people. It is like those that say they believe in free speech as long as it conforms to their own views. "We embrace diversity except when someone wears a police uniform. Oh by the way, we still want the Madison PD to provide security for our diversity march."
Jaikula
Aug 21, 2018 Ok, posted this on FB, but also going to post it here. Doesnt it breach the Constitutional right for a lawful citizen to bear arms. In WI is it lawful to open carry if over 18 and lawfully allowed to hold a permit. So telling someone they cant carry when the law allows them to would be breaching that. And what they going to do, ask a uniformed officer/security guard to ask someone to leave a lawful march which is also protected under the same Constitution.
LEOWIDOW
Aug 21, 2018 I will not pass judgement on them but I’ll let God do it. God will appropriately judge the abominations of man. My covenant with God is secure and I praise him for his forgiveness and love.
Chief Deputy
Aug 21, 2018 If I was the mayor, is tell them to hire security guards to led them and no officers would be anywhere around their stupid and immoral parade. Just saying
kgolfinghawaii
Aug 21, 2018 I am going to say it,who gives a crap about their outreach? When you base everything you are, do and say on who you have sex with you are one screwed up individual. Why anyone wants to be part of this is beyond me. I am not pcand don't care if I offend these non inclusive "inclusive" people.
Just-My-Thoughts
Aug 20, 2018 Apparently the First Congregational church didn't read that part in the old/new testament regarding "gays". It also amazes me that the covenant God made with man that he would never cause a flood over the entire world using a symbol, a rainbow to seal that covenant never to food the earth. Now, the gays use that symbol as one of theirs, rainbow flags/banners and throw that in Gods face.......... Good luck with that.
jericho777
Aug 20, 2018 Didn't these homo groups sue the Irish parade organizers in NY to force them to allow homosexuals in their parade? More double standards I'm thinking.
Burgers Allday
Aug 20, 2018 They said that they excluded police group from marching because they perceive the police to be racist and homophobic. I guess it comes down to whether one feels that this is a correct perception, or an incorrect perception, of police officers generally and as a class.