Visit our special St. Patrick's Day section here
Michelangelo Signorile, the prominent journalist and broadcaster on Sirius Satellite Radio's OutQ, has claimed this week that this years Saint Patrick's Day parade in New York City may be the last one to exclude gays.
Writing in in the Huffington Post yesterday Signorile, who is the websites Gay Voices editor at large, notes with incredulity that NBC and its parent company Comcast still sell the parade's broadcast rights to the organizers who run the parade. In turn, he notes, the organizers then sell advertising to major companies here.
But worse, Signorile laments, one of NBC's top executives, a man who aids the organizers in getting those ad dollars, was chosen as this year's Grand Marshal.
'It's 2012, and in the state of New York gays and lesbians have full civil rights, including marriage equality. Moreover, gays are no longer banned in the U.S. military. But they are still banned from Fifth Avenue's annual St. Patrick's Day Parade in an embarrassing throwback for everyone involved,' he writes.
Since Comcast's chairman and CEO Brian Roberts has testified before the House Judiciary Committee that his company strictly adheres to diversity in every aspect of the company's business dealings, it could be setting the stage for charges of hypocrisy from the gay community claims Signorile.
Signoile writes: '...it's debatable whether selling the broadcast rights to a parade that admittedly excludes a minority group violates the FCC's diversity rules. But it's certainly something that LGBT activists would argue, bringing a lot of attention to the issue. Comcast may not want that fight now.'
Comcast is a company that prides itself on its outreach to the gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender community, Signorile notes adding: 'It's a different time than when the Ancient Order of the Hibernians began excluding gays from the St. Patrick's Day Parade in the early '90s. Netroots activism gets things done very quickly today.'
Comcast will be vulnerable to that kind of activism precisely because it has left itself wide open to criticism by backing a parade whose ban on gays is in clear violation of its own stated principles.
'If Comcast doesn't want a battle on its hands, a battle it will ultimately lose, after much PR erosion, it will make sure that March 18, 2012 is the beginning of the end of the ban on gays in the St. Patrick's Day Parade,' Signorile concludes.
Visit our special St. Patrick's Day section here
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Switch to the desktop site to post a comment.hollabackgurl | Mar 21, 2012, 11:27 PM EDT
That's such a lot of paranoiac hooey you just wrote, Kilgara. Gay Irish marchers have been trying to march under their banner for over 23 years. It's not some whacked out ethnic cleansing exorcise (they're Irish too, dingbat).
kilgara | Mar 20, 2012, 06:46 PM EDT
The reason these homosexuals are pushing themselves on our parade and no other parade is simple.They know that Irish political power in NYC is almost totally gone. The other ethnics are increasing while we are decreasing. They don't have the courage to confront the others but they sense a weakening in us.So they exercise their growing political power , backed by a very biased and compliant media, many of whom are in powerful media positions and gay themselves.They have little or no inclination to honor Saint Patrick and want to thumb their nose at our Cathedral and Cardinal Dolan by marching past him proclaiming their sinfulness, Since the Church is about the only major voice left that tells them that what they engage in is profoundly wrong as deep down inside many of them know it is.
muirisobric | Mar 19, 2012, 10:17 AM EDT
I marched with Kerry and proudly so with my little guy in my arms & I'll tell you here & now, the Kerry contingent of which several hundreds marched, did not discriminate against anyone. The only people we try to discourage R those in abysimally garish get-ups who thrive on acting the eegit & in doing so demean the very eseence of our parade. We certainly don't exclude gays if we did I wouldn't be a part of it.
ciaradexy | Mar 19, 2012, 09:06 AM EDT
Maybe some of you need to look at this article. Type it into google-''The gay ban of New York's St Patrick's Day parade is un-Irish As a gay guy from Dublin, I know how modern Ireland celebrates St Patrick's Day. So I'll pass on New York's outmoded bigotry.'' In 2009, the LGBT float won the title of Best Float at the parade in Dublin. American marching bands do not represent modern Ireland to me but Irish people whether gay or straight or whatever, do!
lee01702 | Mar 18, 2012, 08:09 PM EDT
Not true! Boston's St. Patrick's Day parade also bans gays OR any group that organizers choose not to include. Some years ago, this case went all the way to the US Supreme Court. The high court ruled that as long as the parade is privately - and not publicly - funded, that organizers could exclude or include anyone they want. That ruling stands today.
citizen69 | Mar 18, 2012, 01:56 PM EDT
@NARROWBACK: It wasn't Catholic Irishmen from the British Army that started the parade but mostly Protestant Irish. And when the Friendly Sons Of St. Patrick organised the early parades their membership was mostly Protestant Irish also, as were many of the early Irish societies.
peterson | Mar 18, 2012, 01:44 PM EDT
Just so they keep their clothes on and behave themselves. When they make spectacles of themselves, it really turns people off.
maryemoore | Mar 17, 2012, 11:13 PM EDT
Thank you Seanmor for explaining what the parade is all about. How many of you have ever read the AOH parade charter? I have. No banners are allowed except for the county banners or for the various schools that march. The parade is not an Archdiocesan event. It precedes the founding of the Archdiocese of NY and the formation of this country. The AOH runs the parade under the NYC charter. And yes, as Sean stated, Cardinal Cooke reviewed the parade those years but turned his back to the marchers/grand marshals who carried their own small pro-IRA signs. In fact, he pulled the Catholic schools from marching during those years. Anyone can march in the parade- it is not exclusionary. Those who say that, exclude themselves not the parade organizers. Even the Catholic League- the arch-conservative organization (which I do not endorse) could not get their own banner to march. So, before you show your ignorance, know the facts first. And lest you think I am anti-gay, I am a straight woman who spent the day with gay friends.
Seanmor | Mar 17, 2012, 10:10 PM EDT
ineed60: The cardinal did, in fact, boycott the parades of 83 and 85 because the Grand Marshals for each of those years were staunch supporters of those who sought to change the status quo in the North of Ireland, so that Nationalists would be treated as equals. The gov't in Dublin also boycotted the parade those 2 years, as did all branches of the U.S military. The 1985 Grand Marshal Peter Kng, was elected to Congress some years later and played a major role in arranging the peace process.The parade was a great success the years of the boycotts, and still has a strong Christian orientation, based on the Holy Bible, which is the word of God.
hollabackgurl | Mar 17, 2012, 08:28 PM EDT
Being gay is an orientation, not a 'lifestyle.' it's an orientation that allows otherwise decent people to become the kind of exclusionary, judgmental, see the speck in your brothers eye not the beam in your own hard line holy men that Jesus couldn't stand.
Seanmor | Mar 17, 2012, 08:18 PM EDT
piper52: I fully agree. For about 10 years in the 80s and 90s, I was in charge of the flags, panners, poles and sashes for an Irish orgazizatioon. I and my assistants would arrive at the starting place and display our banners about an hour before we stepped off. While we waited, total strangers would ask for permission to parade with our unit. We never asked any would-be marcher about his or her sexual preference, and it was none of our business. All were welcome to join us. However, none was permitted to carry a sign proclaiming his/her favorite bedroom activity. Out parade celebrates the saint who brought Christianity to Ireland. It is not a platform to publicize and glorify any behavior that is strictly forbidden by the Holy Bible. (NYC has another parade for those who like to advertise their alternative life style).
hollabackgurl | Mar 17, 2012, 07:52 PM EDT
Christ 'sacred' teaching was for us to love one another. Remind me again how singling out gay people for exclusion is demonstrating love or compassion? Parents who throw gay kids out of the house at 15 are do it because they love Jesus. Cardinals who throw them out of the parade on Fith Avenue do it because they love Jesus.
PiperMac52 | Mar 17, 2012, 05:10 PM EDT
No one has ever been excluded from marching in the parade. Advertising ones sexual orientation however in direct opposition to what St. Patrick stood for namely the teachings of Christ and sacred scripture which clearly admonish homosexual acts as "a sin that cries out to heaven" and against God's laws(natural law) presents the problem.
KatieMurphy | Mar 17, 2012, 05:05 PM EDT
I'm sure the catholic church has a lot to do with this scene. They call gays intriniscally disordered, intrinsically evil etc etc..................No wonder we have about 2000 gay kids annually committing suicide, almost like a repeating 9-11........... But what else would you expect from a church whose German born 1928 Pope EXcommunicated Bishop Williamson, a holocaust denier....... They are going nuts, because the church is all but dead in Europe, dying in once very catholic latin America. And America is the focal point of whether the church reforms or dies......Fat chance it reforms - the Good Pope JPII traveled widely while Bennie ran the church for 20 years, fillling the curia and cardinals with like minded people.......Time that all "real catholics" (committed to social justice for all" simply close their pocket books to the vatican....................................BTW I'm sure that gay people do march in the Parader, but they are not visible, forced into a closet of virtual segregation. Total shame on the church.
Rebelforce | Mar 17, 2012, 04:30 PM EDT
I'd like to know why Michelangelo Signorilio isn't damanding his right to march along with other proud gay Italian-Americans in the Columbus Day parade? If we had gay Italians marching openly at the Columbus parade it might set a precedent for other parades. Why single out the St Patrick's day parade when none of the other parades have gay marching units? It smells like cheap, anti-Irish politics at play here. Don't be a hypocrite Michelangelo---"DEMAND" your right to march as an openly gay man in the Columbus parade.
alisaann | Mar 17, 2012, 03:22 PM EDT
everyone should be allowed to march.....it's time for the catholic church to get OVER their closed-mindedness....gays are people too. alisa
NARROWBACK | Mar 17, 2012, 02:45 PM EDT
what happen to free speech Irishcentral if you dont like the truth censor it if you want to read a good Irish paper buy the Irish Examiner
Ineedaname60 | Mar 17, 2012, 02:06 PM EDT
I remember a time that the parade had groups walking that represented the IRA and the purpose was to raise money to buy guns and other arms to kill people. The Cardinal at the time had no problem blessing them as they walked by St Patrick's Cathedral. Who can figure out that institution? The gay thing just hits to close to home for them.
NARROWBACK | Mar 17, 2012, 02:04 PM EDT
The St Patricks day parade is not run by the church but the AOH a catholic organization following in the tradition of the Catholic Irish men in the British army who started the parade. Its the most inclusive parade there is every nationality, creed, color and sexual orientation marches your kidding yourself if you dont think there are gays marching right now with there wedding rings on hollabackgurl
GeorgeDillon | Mar 17, 2012, 02:01 PM EDT
Byuthebay: ". Gays proudly march in the Dublin parade". Gays march in the New York parade also, you goof.
TheOldPerfessor | Mar 17, 2012, 10:20 AM EDT
Simple answer. No.
hollabackgurl | Mar 17, 2012, 10:17 AM EDT
Take off your wedding ring Narrowback. No one wants you proclaiming your sexuality or forcing it down our throats. See how that works? The worst bigots are the unthinking ones. Get over your intolerance the world will be a better place.
hollabackgurl | Mar 17, 2012, 10:10 AM EDT
The Church in NYC has decided they own the exclusive rights to Irishness. They have conflated being Irish with being Catholic and that's a reductive thing to do. The Irish have seen off the tyranny of the Church in Ireland, it's past time to do likewise in NYC. We don't need Cardinal Dolan teaching us how to be Irish.
NARROWBACK | Mar 17, 2012, 10:09 AM EDT
Cahir no ones stopping gays from marching they ar just not allowed to march with a banner proclaiming their sexuality. Go to the parade today march with your county no ones going to stop you get over yourself.
CitizenWhy | Mar 17, 2012, 09:55 AM EDT
The NYC St. Patrick's Day parade is officially tied to the Archdiocese of New York and is officially in honor of the patron saint of the diocese, who just also happens to be the patron saint of Ireland. The church will not concede on gay rights, even as the church's stands on gay rights and the ordination of women are driving scores of young people from the church. Perhaps, for the media, the Queens parade will become the one to broadcast but the church will not budge.