LGBT Veterans for Peace March on Home Turf for St. Patrick

BOSTON, MA - On Sunday, March 20, 2011, at 2 p.m., members of Join the Impact Massachusetts (JTIMA), an advocacy group for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT) people, will be joining the Veterans for Peace (VFP) in an alternative St. Patrick's Day Parade in South Boston. VFP is the first organization ever to secure a permit for an alternative parade on the same date as the annual traditional parade organized by the Allied War Veterans Council.

This is only the second year in Boston history that LGBT people have marched openly as a contingent, whether in an official or unofficial capacity.
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Most people in Boston still remember the court battles and antagonisms that resulted in a unanimous 1995 U.S. Supreme Court ruling. This ruling allowed the Allied War Veterans Council to set the terms of participation which included barring openly LGBT or controversial contingents whose messages appeared discordant with the overall message of the parade.

In the 16 years since that decision was handed down, no groups have challenged that ruling.
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This year, the Veterans for Peace applied to march in the traditional parade and were denied because their flags and banners with the message of "Veterans for Peace" were considered overtly political in nature by parade organizers.

As a result, VFP obtained proper permission from the city of Boston for an alternative parade for those who still wished to march on the day of the parade but were previously denied as well. And while the Veterans' message is about peace and an end to all wars, JTIMA brings the hope of equality to a more general wish for peace in our time.
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"Public sentiment in 2011 is on the side of both equality and peace," said Ann Coleman, a co-chair and lead organizer with JTIMA. "More than 80 percent of those recently polled by Gallup are opposed to workplace and housing discrimination of LGBT people. More than 52 percent polled in a Rasmussen report released last week want to see all US troops come home from the Middle East and Central Asia within the next year. The Allied War Veterans Council needs to realize that Peace and LGBT Equality are welcoming messages for our time."
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Coleman, an Irish-American herself, continued: "The first St. Patrick's Day parades in Boston and the United States were organized to combat negative stereotypes and discrimination faced by Irish immigrants. They often came to this country as indentured servants only to be discriminated against by the broader public in situations of housing and employment and severely mistreated and mischaracterized. We hope to connect our parade to that long forgotten history that it is important to stand up to discrimination and bigotry."
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As an organization, JTIMA has no specific stance on any ongoing wars in which the United States has been involved, but they do believe in a more peaceful world where LGBT people can escape the violent homophobia and transphobia that affect millions upon millions of people worldwide every year.
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JTIMA and other members of the LGBT community will be marching in the alternative parade behind the banner, �"Full Equality For All." They are meeting other participating groups at 2 p.m. at the corner of Foundry and Greenbaum Streets in South Boston, near the Broadway station on the MBTA Red Line. For more information, contact Ann Coleman at 617.640.9112 , or via email at [email protected].
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Also, please visit our Facebook event page at http://on.fb.me/LGBTStPats
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Join the Impact Massachusetts is a 501(c)(4) non-profit organization committed to full equality for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer-identified people. We mobilize individuals and work with existing LGBTQ groups to maximize our collective impact both locally and nationwide while respecting diversity of opinion and belief.
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