Pro-life leader regrets exclusion in light of gay group’s historic first.With less than a month to go before New York’s St. Patrick’s Day Parade, organizers still have not announced what pro-life group will be marching under its own banner.
Parade organizers had said they would allow one such group after protests erupted over their permitting for the first time in the parade’s long history a group that represents homosexuals.
One pro-life group, however, knows it will not be marching March 17. The Children First Foundation, which promotes adoption and pro-life license plates, found out Tuesday—and only after threatening legal action—that the parade committee had rejected its application. The group first applied to march last September, just after the committee bowed to pressure to allow the gay group.
“To allow the gay rights group to march and not the pro life group is unconscionable,” Elizabeth Rex, president of the Children First Foundation, told The Daily Caller News Foundation.
Rex called every pro-life group she knows, hoping to coordinate with them and march behind their banner, but was unable to find any pro-life group planning to march. “That’s not treating this other pro life group fairly because the gay group has had four months to tell everyone they’ll be marching and recruiting support,” she said.
Thursday she learned there is no pro-life group. “They say that the Knights of Columbus are pro-life and two thirds of the parade is probably pro life, so there’s no need for a pro-life group to march under its own banner.”
In spite of the St. Patrick’s Day Parade organizers’ concession to Out@NBC, some gay activists are still not happy. Activists and elected officials said on Tuesday they would continue to protest, saying the organization of gay NBCUniversal employees does not represent gay Irish-Americans.
New York Cardinal Timothy Dolan is parade grand marshal this year.
