South Boston's annual St. Patrick's Day
parade may welcome a gay rights group for the first time in its
history.
Boston Mayor Martin J. Walsh on
Saturday said that he was “optimistic that a solution can be
reached.”
Walsh had earlier threatened to boycott
the parade if gay groups were not included in this year's parade –
the second largest in the nation after New York's parade, which also
excludes gay groups.
Under terms of the tentative deal,
marchers may not wear T-shirts or carry signs identifying them as
gay. Instead, gay rights advocate MassEquality could march under its
banner.
The proviso didn't sit well with the
organization, which said in a statement that “LGBT people should
not have to silence who they are to celebrate other parts of their
identities.”
Meanwhile, New York Mayor Bill de
Blasio has traded in marching in New York City's March 17th
St. Patrick's Day parade for participating in today's 15th
annual St. Pat's For All Parade, an LGBT-inclusive parade.