New York mayor DiBlasio refuses to march in St. Patrick's Day parade over gay ban
New York's newly elected mayor is already walking away from one of the city's oldest traditions: The St. Patrick's Day Parade.
Bill de Blasio will become the first mayor in decades to sit out the March 17 amble along Fifth Avenue.
"I will be participating in a number of other events to honor the Irish heritage of this city," said de Blasio on Tuesday during an unrelated press conference at City Hall. "But I simply disagree with the organizers of that parade."
De Blasio opposed a ban on gay pride signs or banners at the parade. The St. Patrick's Day Parade committee allows gay people to march, but argues that banners celebrating homosexuality would divert the parade's focus of honoring Irish heritage.
While both his predecessors Michael Bloomberg and Rudy Giuliani participated in the parade, de Blasio did not march in the parade even when in the roll of public advocate, NBC New York reported.
The rest: http://usnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2014/02/04/22575215-new-york-mayor-refuses-to-march-in-st-patricks-day-parade-over-gay-ban?lite
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