Lisa Williams, president of sponsoring organization San Francisco Pride, estimated the crowd at 1.2 million, which is up more than 100,000 from last year's event. People dangled atop bus shelters and from streetlamps and trees.
A woman panhandling held one that read, "Spare change for a hobosexual."Īs the parade moved up Market Street, the crowd deepened to the point that it was almost the size of the San Francisco Giants' World Series victory parade in October. "In my family tree, I'm the fruit," one read. Other people in the audience participated with signs. The Canfields, who set up camp near the beginning of the parade route at Market and Fremont streets, looked on as scantily clad men wrote "In love with my husband" on each other's backs. "We wanted to show our kids that there are more lifestyles out there than what they're used to seeing," Canfield said. He brought his wife and three children, Ashley, Meagan and Zander. It's hard to ask for much more," said Jeff Canfield, 55, who is from South Dakota by way of Sacramento. "The timing of all this is just spectacular, with the rulings and this weather. Elected officials who have worked for gay rights were fired up by the Supreme Court rulings as they rode along in vintage convertibles, and the people along the route were just as fired up. Gavin Newsom, who opened the door for same-sex marriage while mayor of San Francisco, alternated riding in a convertible and walking with his wife, Jennifer Siebel Newsom, and their two children - they have a third due any day now. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate "There is something special," he said, "about having the highest court in the land say, 'Yep, you love like a human being.' " Leno has been in and around this parade since 1977, but none was like this one. His own shirt was a pressed Fred Perry polo tucked into the leather pants that he'd gotten for his 40th birthday, almost 22 years ago. Mark Leno, D-San Francisco, stood on the bed of a truck rallying a few hundred cheerleaders in blue "Leno" T-shirts. "This is not the end of the line, but it is a very significant moment." 'This is something special'Ī few floats back, state Sen. ambassador to Luxembourg, who was the first openly gay person to serve at that rank. It's extremely important," said Hormel, the former U.S. "Today is a day that we will never see again in history. House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi was there for the first time in years, in a purple sweater, riding alongside philanthropist Jim Hormel, who wore a white sun hat with lavender trim to match his Pelosi T-shirt. There were 250 official entries and hundreds of thousands of participants, if you counted the spectators lining the route. Supreme Court rulings in favor of same-sex marriage. It was the 43rd annual parade but definitely the one not to miss, coming just four days after the U.S.
To see more, visit WMFE.The San Francisco Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender Pride Parade was under way. Ron DeSantis to express his concerns about the bill and will meet with him to discuss it.Ĭopyright 2022 WMFE. On a shareholders’ call a few hours after the protest, Disney CEO Bob Chapek says he called Florida Gov. “As a former educator, I understand that kids express themselves in different ways and you want to create that space in the classroom, because oftentimes they’re not able to create that safe space at home.” She says as a former teacher kids need to feel like schools are safe spaces, where anything including gender and sexuality can be discussed openly.
Shaundia White, with the AIDS Healthcare Foundation, echoes these sentiments. “We’re here to try and make companies like Disney stand up and show their support for the communities that they make money off of, and obviously have employees who are LGBTQIA and we want to make sure they stand up and show the social justice that they should be having and not just here to make money,” Walker said. Russell Walker, who is leading the protest, is with the Southern Bureau of the AIDS Healthcare Foundation. They’re calling on Disney to speak out against the Parental Rights in Education bill, also known as the “Don’t Say Gay” bill. A dozen or so honking cars with Pride flags and signs like, “celebrate trans kids, they are magical too,” formed a caravan around the entrance of Walt Disney World.