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“It is another on a list of brutalities over the years (against gays),” said Joe Conklin, 74, of Chicago, as he sat on the back of a float waiting for the OK to move out. Many participants said the tributes to the dead in Orlando didn’t dampen the energy and fun associated with the pride parade. Above each photo were the words, “Never forget.”ĭespite the somber start, parade-goers seemed as enthusiastic as ever once marchers and floats began moving, cheering and dancing along the route. In Chicago, 49 marchers at the head of the parade each held aloft a poster-sized photograph of a different Orlando victim as the procession wound through the city. They came two weeks after the nation’s deadliest mass shooting in modern U.S. New York’s parade was one of several being held Sunday across the country, along with San Francisco and Chicago. “What happened in Orlando made me want to come more,” said Restrepo, swathed in a multicolored scarf.
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She had brushed aside her father’s concerns about security to attend the march for the first time.
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Elected officials turned out in force, as did presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton.Īuthorities had expected a larger-than-usual crowd, and 15-year-old Chelsea Restrepo, of Staten Island, was among the onlookers. An announcer introducing state officials and guests also shouted out, “Love is love! New York is Orlando!” in memory of the 49 people killed in Florida. Some spectators held up orange “We are Orlando” signs, and indications of increased security were everywhere, with armed officers standing by. NEW YORK - Rainbow flags were held high along with portraits of the dead as thousands of people marched Sunday in gay pride parades tempered by this month’s massacre at a Florida gay nightclub.Ĭrowds of onlookers stood a dozen deep along Fifth Avenue for New York City’s parade.