It’s a “mistake” to ban a group of gay police officers with the NYPD from marching in next year’s Pride Parade, Mayor de Blasio said Monday.
“Officers who are members of the LGBT community [want] to march and express their pride and their solidarity with the community and their desire to keep changing the NYPD and changing the city,” he said at a press conference. “That’s something I think should be embraced.”
Pride organizers recently told the Gay Officers Action League that it is not welcome in the parade.
“The sense of safety that law enforcement is meant to provide can instead be threatening, and at times dangerous, to those in our community who are most often targeted with excessive force and/or without reason,” NYC Pride said in a Saturday Facebook post.
“Effective immediately, NYC Pride will ban corrections and law enforcement exhibitors at NYC Pride events until 2025. At that time their participation will be reviewed,” the group added.
De Blasio claimed safety is a non-issue at the parade.
“We have to keep people safe and it’s been an incredibly safe, positive event,” he said.
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