Gay Pride Parade spirited despite rain- Revelers, politicians drawn to the party
Gay Pride Parade spirited despite rain- Revelers, politicians drawn to the party
By Jamie Francisco and Rick Pearson
Tribune staff reporters
Copyright © 2006, Chicago Tribune
Published June 26, 2006
Drew Ballard stood in the rain Sunday, refusing to let the weather spoil his experience at the first Chicago Gay Pride Parade he attended.
"This is the kind of thing I dreamed of," said Ballard, 18, who recently moved to Chicago's North Side from Lapeer, Mich. "Chicago has a long way to go, but people should know they really have it good. Be happy, but recognize you still have work to do."
Political work and civil rights were major themes of the 37th annual parade in a section of the North Side known as Boys Town. About 41 of the 250 floats were sponsored by politicians and many paradegoers wielded signs in support of gay marriage.
"This is a celebration. But it's also a commemoration of an important part of civil rights history," said grand marshal George Takei, "Sulu" in the original "Star Trek" TV series, who came out as gay last year.
As pulsating house music echoed along Halsted Street and Broadway, political activists talked about current struggles.
Rick Garcia, political director of Equality Illinois, said he expects that formal objections will be filed this week over petition signatures gathered on behalf of a non-binding referendum proposal that would ask voters in November whether the state constitution should be amended to define marriage as between one man and one woman.
"We hope the State Board of Elections has found what we've found," Garcia said of a review by the Fair Illinois Committee, a consortium of groups opposed to the proposal.
Garcia said the group's review of each of the petition signatures was conducted over the last several weeks by volunteers using donated computer equipment and donated space.
Supporters of the marriage referendum last month filed nearly 345,200 signatures with the state elections board. Just more than 283,000 valid signatures are needed to get the proposal on the Nov. 7 ballot.
Garcia said he is confident his volunteers found enough questionable signatures to block the proposal, though he declined to give specifics at the request of the group's lawyers.
Conservative groups who sought the signatures, including the Illinois Family Institute and the Family Taxpayers' Network, have retained lawyers to fight an anticipated challenge.
"We must not be intimidated, derailed or dismayed in our efforts to simply cast a vote on the issue of marriage," David Smith, a policy strategist for the Illinois Family Institute and project director of Protect Marriage Illinois, wrote on the group's Web site in soliciting funds for legal work.
For many others at the parade, though, the event was more about celebration than politics and religion. Organizers said that about 400,000 people came this year, down from about 450,000 the year before. They attributed the drop to the rain.
Chicago's parade was one of several across the nation Sunday, including events in New York, Miami and San Francisco.
Erica Aranda, 25, of Chicago's Northwest Side cheered with Ileana Perez, 31, her girlfriend of five years, as a women's motorcycle club roared by them.
"We come every year to support our family and have some fun," Aranda said. "We've been partying since yesterday."
The parade gives gays a chance to express themselves and show their pride in the face of intolerance, including such recent events as White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen's use of a homosexual slur and opposition by some to a Gay Games event in Crystal Lake, she said.
"No matter what they say, we still get a day," Aranda said. "It sucks that people are still closed-minded.
"But one day, we will rise and we will have the same rights as straight people."
In front of the 7-Eleven on Halsted and Roscoe Streets, Jose Espinoza enjoyed the parade with T.J. Calvadores, 23.
"We come out for what we believe in and to let everybody know to have respect for gays," Espinoza, 21, said.
Of the parade and the attendees, Espinoza said, "It gives us somebody to look up to, so everybody could know you're not alone. We're there for you."
----------
jfrancisco@tribune.com
rap30@aol.com
By Jamie Francisco and Rick Pearson
Tribune staff reporters
Copyright © 2006, Chicago Tribune
Published June 26, 2006
Drew Ballard stood in the rain Sunday, refusing to let the weather spoil his experience at the first Chicago Gay Pride Parade he attended.
"This is the kind of thing I dreamed of," said Ballard, 18, who recently moved to Chicago's North Side from Lapeer, Mich. "Chicago has a long way to go, but people should know they really have it good. Be happy, but recognize you still have work to do."
Political work and civil rights were major themes of the 37th annual parade in a section of the North Side known as Boys Town. About 41 of the 250 floats were sponsored by politicians and many paradegoers wielded signs in support of gay marriage.
"This is a celebration. But it's also a commemoration of an important part of civil rights history," said grand marshal George Takei, "Sulu" in the original "Star Trek" TV series, who came out as gay last year.
As pulsating house music echoed along Halsted Street and Broadway, political activists talked about current struggles.
Rick Garcia, political director of Equality Illinois, said he expects that formal objections will be filed this week over petition signatures gathered on behalf of a non-binding referendum proposal that would ask voters in November whether the state constitution should be amended to define marriage as between one man and one woman.
"We hope the State Board of Elections has found what we've found," Garcia said of a review by the Fair Illinois Committee, a consortium of groups opposed to the proposal.
Garcia said the group's review of each of the petition signatures was conducted over the last several weeks by volunteers using donated computer equipment and donated space.
Supporters of the marriage referendum last month filed nearly 345,200 signatures with the state elections board. Just more than 283,000 valid signatures are needed to get the proposal on the Nov. 7 ballot.
Garcia said he is confident his volunteers found enough questionable signatures to block the proposal, though he declined to give specifics at the request of the group's lawyers.
Conservative groups who sought the signatures, including the Illinois Family Institute and the Family Taxpayers' Network, have retained lawyers to fight an anticipated challenge.
"We must not be intimidated, derailed or dismayed in our efforts to simply cast a vote on the issue of marriage," David Smith, a policy strategist for the Illinois Family Institute and project director of Protect Marriage Illinois, wrote on the group's Web site in soliciting funds for legal work.
For many others at the parade, though, the event was more about celebration than politics and religion. Organizers said that about 400,000 people came this year, down from about 450,000 the year before. They attributed the drop to the rain.
Chicago's parade was one of several across the nation Sunday, including events in New York, Miami and San Francisco.
Erica Aranda, 25, of Chicago's Northwest Side cheered with Ileana Perez, 31, her girlfriend of five years, as a women's motorcycle club roared by them.
"We come every year to support our family and have some fun," Aranda said. "We've been partying since yesterday."
The parade gives gays a chance to express themselves and show their pride in the face of intolerance, including such recent events as White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen's use of a homosexual slur and opposition by some to a Gay Games event in Crystal Lake, she said.
"No matter what they say, we still get a day," Aranda said. "It sucks that people are still closed-minded.
"But one day, we will rise and we will have the same rights as straight people."
In front of the 7-Eleven on Halsted and Roscoe Streets, Jose Espinoza enjoyed the parade with T.J. Calvadores, 23.
"We come out for what we believe in and to let everybody know to have respect for gays," Espinoza, 21, said.
Of the parade and the attendees, Espinoza said, "It gives us somebody to look up to, so everybody could know you're not alone. We're there for you."
----------
jfrancisco@tribune.com
rap30@aol.com
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