Tag Archives: GOAL

NYPD Adds Extra Security To NYC PRIDE March Despite Not Being Allowed To March.

WARNING: Despite Heightened Threats NYC PRIDE Still Bans NYPD From Marching in Uniform.

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In 2020, Heritage of Pride announced that it would no longer allow uniformed police officers to participate in the annual Pride parade until at least 2025. This decision came after discussions by community activists and groups who believed that the presence of uniformed police officers could create an environment that is unwelcoming and unsafe for some “marginalized communities”.

Now in what is turning out to be one of the most dangerous years for LGBT Americans with threats and violence on the rise Heritage of Pride – NYC Pride is still not allowing uniformed policemen to participate in PRIDE.

Via The NYC Pride website: “NYC Pride acknowledges and accounts for public safety measures that have inflicted harm to transgender, womxn, black, indigenous and peoples of color that have engaged in NYC Pride events. Beginning in 2021, NYC Pride publicly banned corrections and law enforcement exhibitors from marching in their uniforms and participating in recruitment activities at NYC Pride events until at least 2025. This action was a step in the path of transformative justice affirming our commitment to eliminating violence, harm and abuse at NYC Pride events. Continuing on this path requires transparency for how community members can be safe as we care for ourselves, our communities and our environment. NYC Pride is committed to safe events that encompass the intersectionalities of safety, wellness, accessibility and sustainability.”

NYC Pride media director Dan Dimant says “We have private security that we’ve hired. They play a role,” Dimant says. “We also are working with numerous government agencies, and those agencies exist at every level of government across city, state, and federal. It’s NYPD in some ways, but it’s also DOT, sanitation, fire, and EMS.”

An estimated crowd of over 2 mullion visitors are expected to attend this year’s NYC events.

Organizers say that it’s natural for participants to have a heightened sense of awareness amid the current political climate – but they say going back into hiding is exactly what hateful threats are aiming to do. Still, they say people should do what makes them feel the safest.

Please if you attend NYC PRIDE this year follow these simple rules to help remain safe.

  • If at all possible, don’t attend Pride events alone. Designate a Pride buddy and safety plan with them. 
  • Let someone who won’t be with you know your plans for the day/night. Let that person know who you’ll be with and if plans change. Brainstorm in advance ways people can contact and support you. 
  • Charge your electronics and bring chargers and/or extra battery packs. 
  • Write down phone numbers of friends or family on a piece of paper in case your cell phone dies. 
  • Be aware of your surroundings: Locate public spaces and 24-hour businesses to seek help if you feel unsafe. 
  • Always trust your instincts. If you feel threatened or unsafe, remove yourself from the situation as quickly as possible. 

Gay History - April 19, 1982: The Gay Officers Action League, Inc. (GOAL) Founded in NYC

Gay History – April 19, 1982: The Gay Officers Action League, Inc. (GOAL) Founded in NYC

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April 19, 1982 – The Gay Officers Action League, Inc. (GOAL)  is founded by NYPD Sergeant Charles Cochrane and retired Detective Sam Ciccone establishing the first official police fraternal society in the world to represent LGBT people within the criminal justice system and create a support network for LGBT officers and to advocate for their rights within the police department.

Cochrane, a 14 year veteran of the NYPD, created shock waves by testifying before a NYC Council hearing in favor of a gay rights bill. Following the testimony of a Patrolmen’s Benevolent Association Vice President, who denounced the bill and declared, “I didn’t know of any homosexual police officers.”, Cochrane stunned all present as well as NYC as a whole by his testimony: “I am very proud of being a New York City Police Officer, and I am equally proud of being gay.”

One of GOAL’s primary objectives is to advocate for policies and practices that protect the rights of LGBT officers and to ensure that they are not subjected to discrimination or harassment on the job. The organization has been instrumental in changing policies within the New York City Police Department that have previously discriminated against LGBT officers. For example, in 1994, GOAL successfully advocated for a policy change that allowed LGBT officers to march in uniform in the annual New York City Pride Parade. A point of contention today with the younger more radical queer activists.

The work of the Gay Officers Action League, Inc. has had a significant impact on the lives of LGBT police officers in New York City and beyond. and is an important organization that plays a critical role in advocating for the rights and interests of LGBT police officers. The organization’s work has had a significant impact on the New York City Police Department and has helped to create a more welcoming and inclusive workplace for LGBT officers.

*Archival items from the Gay Officers Action League records. Manuscripts and Archives Division. The New York Public Library. Astor, Lenox, and Tilden Foundations.

*Header Photo: By Andy Warhol

Barney Frank Rips HOP - NYC Pride to Shreds for Banning LGBT Police Officers From Marching

Barney Frank Speaks Out Against HOP – NYC Pride for Banning LGBT Police Officers From Marching

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Former Rep. Barney Frank who was considered the most prominent gay politician in the United States during his time in Congress. came out swinging today against Heritage of Pride the group that runs NYC Pride for banning LGBT police officers from marching this year.

Via Frank’s Op-ed in The Hill:

Having gotten used to Pride parades being occasions when the broad community can come together in an atmosphere of complete mutual respect, I was very disappointed at the injection of bigotry that has marred this season. I am referring to the decision of the organizers of the New York march to demonize some of the most courageous and effective opponents of homophobia in our community — the LGBT police officers who have combated prejudice in places where it was deep-rooted.

I am somewhat comforted by knowing that those who have made this decision speak for a small minority of the LGBT community. But that very fact underlines the danger of letting our agenda be dictated by deferring to the small minorities within our ranks who compete with each other in a purer-than-thou contest.

Those most committed to reforming police practices damage this important cause when they refuse to distinguish between police officers who victimize others and those who have stood proudly against bigotry. Collective punishment that puts heroes and villains in the same category is flat out wrong on three fundamental counts.

It is a blatant violation of the principle of fairness at the center of our struggle; it is a distorted picture of the reality which we have worked to present; and it is counterproductive to inform people in positions of some authority that they are guilty by definition — no matter how hard they fight on our side.

It must be mentioned that the general membership of HOP voted overwhelmingly to ALLOW LGBT NYC Police- GOAL NYC to march; the board of Heritage of Pride that took it upon themselves to override the decision and ultimately banned the police.

NYC Pride Bans Police From PRIDE Festivities. NYPD's Gay Officers Action League Responds

NYC Pride Bans Police From PRIDE Festivities. NYPD’s Gay Officers Action League Responds.

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Heritage of Pride the group responsible for NYC’s Official Pride festivities after many years of complaints from trans-activists and QPOC have decided that the LGBT NYPD/Law Enforcement will NOT be allowed to participate.

The New York Times reports:

New York City’s annual Pride celebration, which began 51 years ago as a defiant commemoration of an anti-police uprising and has evolved into a city-sanctioned equality jamboree, will take steps to reduce the presence of law enforcement at its events.

Starting this year, police and corrections officers will also not be allowed to participate as a group in the annual Pride march until at least 2025. The ban includes the Gay Officers Action League, an organization of L.G.B.T.Q. police, which announced the news in a statement on Friday night.

The New York Police Department will also be asked to stay a block away from the edge of all in-person events, including the march. Heritage of Pride, which organizes events, will instead turn to private companies for security and safety, calling police officers in emergencies only when necessary, they said.

The NYPD’s Gay Officers Action League responds:

The Gay Officers Action League (“GOAL”) is disheartened by the decision to ban our group from participating in New York City Pride. Heritage of Pride (NYC Pride) has long been a valued partner of our organization and its abrupt about-face in order to placate some of the activists in our community is shameful.

GOAL and our members have had our hands in every police reform and policy revision touching on the LGBTQIA+ community in New York City.

As the result of our advocacy alongside our allies, NYPD revised its Patrol Guide in 2012 to include procedures specific to transgender and gender nonconforming New Yorkers.

For nearly 30 years, GOAL has provided LGBTQIA+ training for every new NYPD recruit at the academy, educating future officers on the unique challenges facing our community.

We also serve as victim advocates for those in our community that have needed to navigate the criminal justice system. These are just a few of the countless initiatives that GOAL has undertaken to change the culture of law enforcement. We are doing the work that leads to progress.

GOAL’s efforts extend beyond New York. We have facilitated LGBTQIA+ sensitivity and awareness training for criminal justice agencies throughout the region and internationally.

Our efforts have served as a model for police departments pursuing their own LGBTQIA+ programs. There are many partners for change throughout law enforcement. For them to succeed, they need to be supported by leading LGBTQIA+ groups, not excommunicated by them.

“Heritage of Pride is well aware that the city would not allow a large scale event to occur without police presence. So their response to activist pressure is to take the low road by preventing their fellow community members from celebrating their identities and honoring the shared legacy of the Stonewall Riots,” says GOAL President Brian Downey.

He continues: “It is demoralizing that Heritage of Pride didn’t have the courage to refer to GOAL by name in its announcement, referring to us only as ‘Law Enforcement Exhibitors.’ The label is not only offensive but dehumanizing for our members.”

Over the course of our nearly 40 years of existence, GOAL has worked feverishly to build a bridge between the LGBTQIA+ and criminal justice communities. Despite Heritage of Pride’s decision, our work will continue.

Long Island Man Arrested For Threatening To Bomb NYC PRIDE

NYC PRIDE Denies Demand That LGBT Police Not March In Uniform During This Years Parade

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Heritage of Pride which runs NYC’s grand LGBT Pride Parade and events during gay pride weekend has denied demands made by the group “Reclaim Pride Coalition” that New York City’s LGBT police officers not be allowed to march in uniform.  And also the banning of police vehicles and the removal of the police marching band out of this years pride parade.

the parade because it might upset a section of the community.

About 10 members of the Coalition attended the May 14th meeting and argued that the demands they sought were  an act of solidarity with those communities, notably communities of color, that feel the brunt of policing in New York City and around the country.

“When you don’t stand up against the crimes the cops commit, you’re being complicit,” said Jay W. Walker, a  NYC activist and member Gays Against Guns (GAG), which did not endorse the demands of the group.

“We get requests ever year from people who want us to control or restrict who can march,” said James Fallarino, who heads media for HOP during the May 14th meeting at The Center. 

Fallarino then made a motion for the HOP board to vote again on  HOP’s longstanding policy that any group can and that HOP does not tell marchers how to present themselves beyond applying the same rules to all other marchers. Fallarino’s motion reiterated that HOP does not restrict “the types of groups that may register” and that “No restrictions are placed on how marchers may legally express themselves.”

The motion was approved  37 to 1 vote.

The Gay Officers Action League released the following statement:

“GOAL is happy to learn that Heritage of Pride has reaffirmed its long-standing commitment to allow marchers full freedom of expression,” the police fraternal organization said in a statement. “We have always marched as activists fighting for equality for LGBTQ people in the criminal justice profession, and for the larger LGBTQ community. Thanks to this decision, GOAL will be marching out and proud to celebrate our community’s history and heritage again this year.”

You can read the Reclaim Pride’s full list of demands by CLICKING HERE

 

*Many thanks to Duncan Osborne and Gay City News.

LGBT NYPD Police Invite Disenfranchised Toronto PD To March With Them At NYC Pride

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After Police officers were banned from marching and participating in Pride Toronto, because of an outcry from the Black Lives Matter movement., the Gay Officers Action League (Goal) has invited Toronto police officers to march, in uniform with them, during New York City’s Pride Parade and March.

Members of Pride Toronto voted to ban police uniforms, weapons and vehicles from the parade earlier this year, after protests and a hi-jacking of their Pride parade from Black Lives Matter last year.

Many in the LGBT community and the Toronto Police Association has been vocally opposed to the ban, even going so far as to ask the city to pull funding from Toronto Pride, which the city declined to do.

“This type of restriction is a step backwards for both our gay officers and the relationship Toronto Police have tried to build with the community,” president of the Toronto Police Association said.

About 10,000 people have signed a petition on Change.org asking for uniformed police to be allowed to march in the parade.

Toronto’s police union said it hopes many officers will be able to participate in NYC Pride.

“We are honoured that they have invited Toronto police officers to attend and march in their parade with uniforms,”  said McCormack,.

Marching in uniform is an important part of any pride parade, said GOAL’s executive director William Shephard.

“We actually had to sue in the United States federal court in 1997 for the right to march in the NYPD uniforms in New York City Pride,

Janaya Khan, a co-founder of Black Lives Matter Toronto, objects  to GOAL’s invitation of Canadian police.

“It’s disgraceful that these sort of organizations within the police departments are reaching out to each other in this way in an act of solidarity,” Khan said. “The police are not a marginalized group. They are a political and militarized institution.”

Khan claims that GOAL’s decision to invite Toronto police officers revealed a “significant tone deafness.”