Commentary: NYC Pride Bans Cops From Future Parades, Tells Them To ‘Acknowledge Their Harm’ To LGBT People

If LGBT police officers marching in the New York City “pride” parade was making you feel unsafe, let me be the bearer of good news.

On Saturday, NYC Pride announced that gay, lesbian and transgender New York City Police Department officers wouldn’t be allowed to march in the group’s events until at least 2025 as part of the organizers’ “new policies to address police presence” at the event.

But, oh, they went further than that. Not content with keeping them from marching, the organizers pressed the NYPD to steer clear from the event as much as possible, saying the services police officers provide could be “reallocated to trained private security, community leaders, and volunteers.”

“NYC Pride seeks to create safer spaces for the LGBTQIA+ and BIPOC communities at a time when violence against marginalized groups, specifically BIPOC and trans communities, has continued to escalate,” the group announced in the news release.

“The sense of safety that law enforcement is meant to provide can instead be threatening, and at times dangerous, to those in our community who are most often targeted with excessive force and/or without reason. NYC Pride is unwilling to contribute in any way to creating an atmosphere of fear or harm for members of the community. The steps being taken by the organization challenge law enforcement to acknowledge their harm and to correct course moving forward, in hopes of making an impactful change.

“Effective immediately, NYC Pride will ban corrections and law enforcement exhibitors at NYC Pride events until 2025. At that time their participation will be reviewed by the Community Relations and Diversity, Accessibility, and Inclusion committees, as well as the Executive Board,” the statement continued.

“In the meantime, NYC Pride will transition to providing increased community-based security and first responders, while simultaneously taking steps to reduce NYPD presence at events.”