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| Sen. Vi Simpson walking in Indy Pride Parade with supporters |
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| Hundreds of Pride attendees stood in long lines to meet Libertarian gubernatorial candidate Rupert Boneham (shown above in his signature tie dye shirt) and to get his autograph |
Indianapolis' largest and most culturally-diverse summer event, Indy Pride Parade and Festival, attracted nearly 100,000 visitors to Indianapolis' downtown on Saturday. The parade with more than 100 entrants is now larger than the 500 Festival Parade held each Memorial Day Weekend. While many politicians still shun the event, others warmly embrace it. Democratic Lt. Governor candidate Sen. Vi Simpson and Libertarian gubernatorial candidate Rupert Boneham both participated in the parade, along with a number of other local Democratic candidates, including U.S. Rep. Andre Carson. Libertarians touted Boneham as the only candidate for governor who supports marriage equality. Both Mike Pence (R) and John Gregg (D) support a proposed constitutional amendment to ban same-sex marriages and similar benefits now enjoyed only by opposite sex couples. Gregg's running mate, Sen. Simpson, has been a strong proponent of marriage equality in the Indiana General Assembly. No Republicans participated in this year's parade, not even District 100 state representative candidate Scott Keller, who co-sponsored the human rights ordinance as a City-County Councilor. Carson's Republican opponent, Carlos May, attended the festival and said he would have participated in the parade but was told by event organizers there were no more open spots.
2 comments:
If you wait until the last minute, there are no spots in the parade nor can you get a table. What a convenient excuse. Let's be honest - whether it was to satisfy the more conservative members of their party or because it reflected their own viewpoint, the Republican Party did not want a presence at the Pride Celebration - not Mike Pence, not Carlos May, not any candidate for the legislature and certainly not Mitt Romney.
Another way of looking at it is that the parade organizers really did deny Carlos May a spot in the parade.
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