Staten Island bans LGBTQ groups  from St. Patrick's Day parade — again

Every year on St. Patrick's Day, Staten Island bars LGBTQ groups from participating in their event.

Irish Central reported the decision Thursday after the group was sent the denial of participation for three LGBTQ groups, the Pride Center of Staten Island, the Gay Officers Action League (GOAL) and FireFlag. The long-time leader of the parade, Larry Cummings, has refused to allow any such groups to participate for years.

"I handed (Cummings) the application and he said, 'I don’t want that,'" Pride Center Director Carol Bullock said in an interview with Gay City News. "The minute we walked in, I could see his body language. My board member Alex Carr walked over to introduce himself, tried to shake Larry’s hand, and Larry said, ‘I’m not shaking your hand.’"

“At one point, I said, ‘I don’t understand. We are allowed to march in Boston, in Dublin, in New York City — why not Staten Island? What makes Staten Island so different?’ He just stared at me," Bullock continued. The one major difference is Cummings.

The parade application demands that "The Parade Committee will allow affiliation that honors and supports Irish cultural, religious and historical traditions; and does not stand, in any way, in opposition to, or contradicts, the Teachings and Tenets of the Catholic Church." It is upon that reason that Cummings denies LGBTQ any participation in Staten Island's parade.

Under the NYC Human Rights Law, it is illegal for any person to be discriminated against based on actual or perceived sexual orientation or gender. The fact-sheet for the Commission on Human Rights declares, "An organization cannot engage in discriminatory practices under any circumstance. Customer preference or discomfort is never a justification for discrimination."

Since Staten Island's parade must apply for a permit for their event, it's unclear if the city could deny that permit based on the discrimination.

LGBTQ rights activist Brendan Fay was responsible for the inclusion of the groups in the New York City St. Patrick’s Day parade. He also founded St. Pat’s for All march in Sunnyside, Queens. He was on hand at the Holy Family Church to lend his support as the three groups submitted their applications. He too was just as frustrated with the decision.

"Larry Cummings constantly referred to the Catholic religion tenets as the grounds for the exclusion. I urged the parade organizers to end the exclusion and extend a warm welcome to the good people of the Staten Island Pride Center,” Fay said.

“I looked at Mr. Cummings who sat rigidly with arms folded. I mentioned Pope Francis’ recent message to parents to love their LGBT children. I mentioned his support for civil unions. I spoke of Lavender and Green Alliance marching on the Avenue on March 17 with the support of Cardinal Timothy Dolan."

The groups were still denied.

Read the full report at Irish Central.