Tag Archives: NYC Pride

Long Island Man Arrested For Threatening To Bomb NYC PRIDE

Long Island Man Arrested For Threatening To Bomb NYC PRIDE

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Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) arrested and charged on Monday a Long Island man for mailing letters threatening to assault, shoot, and bomb LGBT affiliated individuals, organizations, and businesses and NYC PRIDE.

Agents from the New York Field Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) arrested and charged on Monday a Long Island man on a warrant issued by United States Magistrate Judge Steven I. Locke for mailing letters threatening to assault, shoot, and bomb LGBTQ+ affiliated individuals, organizations, and businesses. 

Fehring was arrested this morning and will make his initial appearance this afternoon before United States Magistrate Judge Steven I. Locke.

As alleged, the defendant’s hate-filled invective and threats of violence directed at members of the LGBTQ+ community have no place in our society and will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law,” stated United States Attorney Peace.

This Office is firmly committed to protecting the civil rights of all members of every community in this district, including the LGBTQ+ community and other minority communities.

Fehring’s alleged threats to members of the LGBTQ+ community were not only appalling, but dangerous, despite the fact he hadn’t yet acted on his purported intentions.”

Department of Justice

This is an excerpt from a message was sent to the executive director of an organization setting up an NYC Pride event in May 2021.

“As you faggot scum are preparing to waltz your fruity, freaky f—-t asses down the NY parade lanes, we warn you that there will be radio-controlled devices placed at numerous strategic places, and firepower aimed at you from other strategic places. We’ve had enough!!! This will make the 2016 Orlando Pulse Nightclub shooting look like a cakewalk,”

NY Daily News

After his arrest, Fehring said there was a “sickening overdose of that stuff being shoved down everybody’s face on the paper, on the TV and all over the place, and I’m not a fan of any of the homosexuality, homosexual thing,” according to the FBI.

Fehrings arrest comes after in the wake of a minority of queer groups pressuring NYC Pride to remove all police presence from NYC Pride events.

Gay Man Stabbed After NYC PRIDE Trying To Protect Others

Gay Man Stabbed After NYC PRIDE Trying To Protect Others.

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On Sunday June 27th. Dylan Spinosa, and his friends were returning from the NYC Pride/Reclaim Pride when at the Staten Island Ferry terminal Spinosa saw a inebriated man harassing women and tried to step in when an attacker suddenly yelled an anti-gay slur stabbed him in the back.

Spinosa told the New York Daily News that the man was “harassing every girl that he passed by, talking to them sexually.”

“He was in her ear, sexually harassing her, saying he was going to have sex with her,” Spinosa said. “Me and this other guy were like, ‘Dude, leave her alone. Go home. You’re drunk. This doesn’t have to get any further.”‘

It was then the suspect called Spinosa a “fag” and lunged at him. Spinosa succeeded in putting Shields in a headlock after he threatened the 20-year-old by saying he had a gun.

“I put the guy in a headlock and told him ‘relax it’s over – cut it out,’” Spinosa told ABC 7.

Spinosa then went to get the injured man water when Shields ran at him. Shields stabbed him in the back. At first, he said, it felt like he was punched in the back.

“I didn’t notice that I was stabbed until a police officer and my friend said, ‘You’re bleeding.’ He had a blade I want to say was about three to four inches long,” Spinosa said

The suspect in question was identified as 47-year-old Eric Shields by the NYPD

Shields has been arrested in connection to the attack and the NYPD Hate Crime Task Force is still investigating whether the attack will be prosecuted as a hate crime.

Shields has 34 prior arrests in New York City

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.

WATCH: The KINKY BOOTS - "Raise You Up" - International Pride Cast Reunion 2020 Starring: EVERYBODY!

WATCH: The KINKY BOOTS – “Raise You Up” – International Pride Cast Reunion 2020 Starring: EVERYBODY!

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To celebrate NYC Pride 2020, the smash-hit Tony Award-winning, Olivier Award-winning, Grammy Award-winning Broadway legend KINKY BOOTS brings together cast members from around the globe and reunites original Broadway stars Billy Porter, Stark Sands and Annaleigh Ashford for epic at-home music video of its finale anthem “Raise You Up” by Cyndi Lauper. Productions from seven nations across four continents represented!

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.”

Amazon Tells GOP Senators It Won’t Sell Books That “Frame LGBTQ+ Identity As Mental Illness”

ABC-TV To Broadcast NYC Pride Parade 2017 LIVE!

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NYC Pride announced that WABC-TV will be its official television partner and broadcast the 48th NYC LGBT Pride March on Sunday, June 25, 2017. The NYC Pride March started in 1970 as a civil rights demonstration on the 1-year anniversary of the Stonewall Uprising. Today, it is one of the world’s best known LGBT events, with 350 marching contingents and more than 2 million spectators in 2016.

WABC-TV will broadcast the annual trek down Fifth Avenue from Noon – 3 p.m. on Channel 7 and also stream the event on its website, abc7ny.com. This important new partnership comes at a time of political and social turmoil in many communities. “We’re excited to have Tri-state viewers welcome us into their homes for what will be an unprecedented opportunity for the LGBT community’s collective voices to be heard,” said Chris Frederick, NYC Pride Managing Director.

WABC-TV joins a vast array of nonprofits, community organizations, corporate partners, small businesses, political candidates and activists who participate each year. “Channel 7 prides itself on being able to bring important, local celebrations of community spirit to as many people as possible,” said Dave Davis, President and General Manager of WABC-TV. “We look forward to making this year’s March the best ever.”

In addition to the live broadcast, the station will also provide coverage of other essential NYC Pride events: PrideFest – the annual LGBT street festival, Pride Luminaries Brunch, the Rally, and Pride Island – a new three-day LGBT cultural experience.

This year’s theme, “We Are Proud,” speaks to the LGBT community’s unwavering ability to rise and be proud, even in the face of the existing political environment. The American Civil Liberties Union, Brooke Guinan (trans woman, FDNY firefighter), Krishna Stone (Director of Community Relations, GMHC), and Geng Le (Founder, Blued) will helm 2017’s iconic March. – Via Press Release

 

Canadian PM Justin Trudeau To March n Toronto Gay Pride Parade, Will President Obama March In NYC’s?

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Justin Trudeau

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau will become one of the first world leaders to take part in a gay pride march, organizers’ of the Toronto event have announced.

Mr Trudeau will march in the July 3rd. parade alongside the city’s mayor and Ontario Premier Kathleen Wynne, the first lesbian premier in Canada.

Not being the first pride parade the liberal Trudeau has been to, The newly elected leader tweeted: “Very much looking forward to being there again, this time as PM. #PrideTO.”

President Obama who began his political journey sympathetic to gay rights, but not deeply informed about them.  Today, just over a decade later, he has done more for gay rights than any other US president. In particular, the president has been a key part of landmark achievements on the freedom to marry, from the gutting of the Defense of Marriage Act to winning marriage in state houses and courtrooms. These historic successes, on his watch and with his help, meant that LGBT rights, and marriage equality specifically, would be at the center of the legacy he’d leave behind.

Would it not be a grand parting gesture for President Obama to walk in New York City’s Pride Parade?

President Obama think about it. And if you decide to march call me. I have a fabulash rainbow necktie for you to wear.

WATCH The 44th Annual NYC Pride Parade LIVE @ Back2Stonewall.com! (Livecast)

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Thanks to Mashable.com you don’t have to travel to New York City this weekend to experience the NYC Pride March. Mashable will be providing coverage, commentary and interviews live from the march route with Orange Is The New Black’s Laverne Cox, Frozen’s Jonathan Groff, and Kinky Boots’ Natalie Joy Johnson, among many others attending the march. And you can watch it here at Back2Stonewall.com!  Happy Pride!


Source: Mashable.com