Today was big Pride Parade here in San Francisco. And with the recent marriage ruling here in California, it was an even bigger celebration than previous years.
Of course, Zip was there for the festivities:
The parade is on Market Street, our main thoroughfare, which has been adorned with flags and other symbols for weeks in anticipation:
[Click to enlarge]
The parade is of course full of colorful characters:
Marriage was of course a major theme this year, with many couples displaying “Just Married” banners to thunderous applause.
This BART vehicle was decked out for trips to the chapel:
But with good fun there is also seriousness. We all need to be vigilant and make sure that our friends’ new-found rights are not taken away this November:
It is a not an issue of LGBT rights versus religion. Indeed, faith and religious groups were an important part of this year’s parade:
However, when this group from the “San Francisco Voice for Israel” marched by, it seemed like the crowds were strangely quiet.
I was actually invited last year to march with this group, after talking to a gay supporter of Israel while attending a birthday for a “nice Jewish girl” I was romantically interested in…but that is a story for another time.
Many city agencies were represented in the parade, including Animal Services, who had some amusing banners:
In all, a proud day for San Francisco and for California. And with the continued wildfires and other problems, we need something to celebrate.
What a happy and festive day! Congratulations to everyone who got married!
How ironic that you're celebrating diversity of sex/gender while we're yet again rolling in the muck of homophobia (Anwar, one of Malaysia's leading politicos, has been accused of being gay – again)
Wow.. That is really a colorful rally. If I could be there at the time…!
As one of those in your picture of the SF Voice for Israel contingent, I can only say that maybe the crowds were "strangely quiet" only where you were– we got a very nice enthusiastic reception from many who recognized that Israel is the only country in the Middle East to recognize LGBT rights.
Glad to see someone acknowledging Israel's record on LGBT Rights :
-Gays have full rights to serve in the military
-Sodomy laws were struck down in 1988
-Full civil rights for LGBT people established in 1992
-Partner benefits for all governmental employees, including the national airline, El Al
-Partner adoption rights
-In 2007 the State agreed to recognize same gender marriages performed abroad, similar to its recognition of other civil marriages from other countries
* Pride parades take place annually in Jerusalem, Tel Aviv, Eilat and Haifa. Attempts by Muslim, Christian and Jewish religious groups to stop the parades, mostly in Jerusalem have consistently been blocked by the Israeli Supreme Court.
* The first transgendered person to win the Eurovision contest was Israeli Dana International in 1998 with her song, "Diva". Eurovision is watched by hundreds of millions of people through Europe, Asia and Africa.
* Openly gay singer Ivri Lidder is agmonst Israel's most popular entertainers
* Openly gay movie producer Eytan Fox has become one of Israel's most important film exporters to the world, with his movies "Yossi and Jagger", Walk on Water" and "The Bubble".
* Openly gay politicians have served in the Israeli Kenneset and on the city councils of Tel Aviv and Jerusalem