(The Center Square) — New York City’s top cop is blasting organizers of the Pride Parade for refusing to allow officers who plan to march in the annual event to carry their service weapons, calling it a “slap in the face” to the nation’s largest police force.
NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch said members of the Gay Officers Action League have been banned from marching in the June 27 New York City Pride Parade with their weapons, which she said is a part of their uniform.
“Once again, they banned NYPD officers from marching in full uniform later this month. That decision is as hypocritical as it is a slap in the face to the New York City Police Department and to the spirit of pride,” Tisch said in remarks Sunday before marching in the Queens Pride event. “I call on New Yorkers to join me in speaking out against Heritage of Pride’s offensive and exclusionary stance on this issue.”
In a statement on its website, Heritage Pride said the decision to disarm marching NYPD officers was approved by a “sizable margin” of the group’s membership. GOAL had requested an exemption to the policy, prohibiting weapons, the group said, saying they are unwilling to march if they weren’t able to wear their full dress uniforms.
“All Pride March participants must agree to our rules and guidelines, in place to ensure the safety of our marchers, spectators, and community,” the group said. “As always, GOAL members remain welcome to participate in the Pride March, in compliance with our safety rules and guidelines, just like every other March participant.”
The group’s ban went into effect in 2021 after organizers raised concerns with the NYPD’s response to the George Floyd protests, which saw violent clashes between demonstrators and police officers.
In May, GOAL announced that it failed to reach an impasse with NYC Pride organizers over the participation of openly LGBTQ+ law enforcement officers in the parade. The group said the dispute, now in its fifth year, has “evolved from broader objections to police participation into disputes over uniforms and, ultimately, the carrying of firearms by active-duty officers.” It noted that armed NYPD officers provide security at the annual event.
“We spent years engaging in good faith dialogue because we believed inclusion meant inclusion,” Jason Samuel, GOAL’s vice president, said in a statement at the time. “Previous generations of LGBTQ+ officers fought to be able to stand openly and visibly in uniform. We are now being told that visibility itself is the problem.”
Founded in 1982, GOAL is the oldest and largest organization of LGBTQ law enforcement and criminal justice professionals in the United States and the first organization of its kind in the world.
“The message increasingly feels less like ‘come march with us’ and more like ‘come march as someone else,” Samuel said in the statement.
