Inclusive St. Patrick's Day Parade in NYC

Please join Irish Queers as we protest LGBT exclusion from the New York City St. Patrick's Day Parade. For 18 years, Irish and Irish American queers have been challenging the narrow definition of Irishness set forth by the Ancient Order of Hibernians, a conservative, Catholic,
all-male organization that runs many St. Patrick's Day Parades across the country. As a right wing organization, the AOH prohibits all LGBT people and anyone that is pro-choice from OPENLY taking part in their events. Although the parade has been billed as the largest celebration of Irish culture in the world, the New York Ancient Order of Hibernians and the Catholic Archdiocese have redefined it as a private, religious event (taking place on public streets) where many Irish people are not welcome.

While our fight began in the 1990s within New York's Irish and church
institutions, we have learned that the City, the NYPD and the courts
are all willing to trample and erase the diverse fabric of the Irish
community. Our struggle is not just with the parade organizers and
Catholic hierarchy, but with military organizations, the NYPD, the
FDNY and other public servants who, while wearing their official uniforms,
use the parade to express sentiments of hate and superiority that would
not be allowed at other events.

Please join us on March 17th on Fifth Avenue @ 57th street (on the
west side) from 11am - 1pm. Stand up for a definition of Irishness
that values human rights and diverse communities!

For more information, write us at irishqueers@hotmail.com
http://www.stpatsforall.com/