Queens Pride draws more than 40K people

The threat of severe weather did little to deter the more than 40,000 people who turned out for the annual Queens Pride in Jackson Heights on Sunday, June 6.

City Council Speaker Christine Quinn, state Sen. Jos� Peralta [D-Jackson Heights,] City Councilmembers Daniel Dromm [D-Jackson Heights,] Jimmy Van Bramer [D-Sunnyside,] Rosie Mendez [D-Lower East Side] and Melissa Mark-Viverito [D-East Harlem,] city Comptroller John Liu, Congressmen Anthony Weiner and Joseph Crowley are among the dozens of local and statewide politicians who marched down 37th Avenue.

A Queens jury convicted John McGhee in connection with brutally beating Garz�n to death outside a Roosevelt Avenue bar. A number of anti-LGBT hate crimes have rocked the borough in recent month, but Dromm said this year's Pride carried an added meaning for him, in part, because he marched as a Councilmember for the first time.

"It was really special," he told EDGE. "For all the parades we've done... this year, for the first time, we're also your Councilmembers. It was a really special day for me to celebrate."

Queens Pride capped off a weekend of events throughout the five boroughs.

State Sen. Diane Savino and state Assemblymember Matt Titone were among the more than 500 people who turned out for the sixth annual Staten Island Pride. Robin Garber and Kathleen Cumiskey, co-owners of the Bent Pages bookstore in Stapleton, were the parade's grand marshals. And while attendance was not as high as in previous years, Gerard Mawn, former co-chair of the Staten Island Pride planning committee, described the event as a success.

"It was one of the best things; walking on the streets of St. George," he told EDGE.

Both Mawn and Dromm agreed Pride events allow LGBT residents in their respective boroughs to come out and demonstrate their visibility. But in this election year, these celebrations also provide an opportunity for local and statewide candidates to court LGBT voters.

State Assembly candidates Aravella Simontas and Jeremiah Frei-Pearson and Nassau County District Attorney Kathleen Rice were among those who worked the crowd in Jackson Heights. Frei-Pearson cited his support for the Gender Expression Non-Discrimination Act, the Dignity in All Schools Act and marriage for same-sex couples.

"I'm fundamentally angry my gay and lesbian brothers and sisters can't get married because they have a different sexual orientation," he told EDGE after he marched on 37th Avenue. "I will go to Albany and fight for them."

Several groups that marched in Queens also called for the passage of the federal Employment Non-Discrimination Act and the repeal of Don't Ask, Don't Tell. The City Council plans to vote on a resolution that urges lawmakers on Capitol Hill to support legislation that would allow gays and lesbians to serve openly in the armed forces.

"Don't Ask, Don't Tell was wrong when enacted and is wrong now," said Quinn in a statement. "LGBT citizens who want to serve their country and put their lives on the line deserve the respect and gratitude of our nation. The legislation currently before Congress is a first step in the essential task of making our armed forces safe for LGBT Americans to serve openly."

State Sen. Tom Duane, the Latino Commission on AIDS, the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation and the Transgender Legal Defense & Education Fund also used the start of Pride month to issue an open letter to LGBT Puerto Ricans. Gay teenager Jorge Steven L�pez Mercado's brutal death in November is among the several anti-LGBT murders that have rocked the island over the last year. Kris Hayashi, executive director of the Audre Lorde Project, said LGBT New Yorkers should celebrate Pride month; but also acknowledge those who continue to struggle against discrimination and violence.

"While it's a time of celebration and raise leadership of our community, it is also a time to remember the many injustices our communities still face," he said.

The Audre Lorde Project will be among those participating in the Trans Day of Action at City Hall on Friday, June 25. Brooklyn Pride will take place on Saturday, June 12. And the New York City Pride parade will take place on Sunday, June 27.