The Guardian: New York City mayor ends boycott of St Patrick's Day parade as gay ban dropped

http://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2016/mar/02/new-york-city-bill-de-blasio-st-patricks-day-parade-boycott-gay-ban

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Mayor Bill de Blasio is ending a two-year boycott of the nation’s largest St Patrick’s Day parade now that it has fully dropped its longstanding ban on allowing gay and lesbian groups to march under their own banners.

De Blasio, a first-term Democrat, told the Associated Press on Wednesday that for the first time he will take part in the parade along Manhattan’s Fifth Avenue on 17 March. He skipped the parade in 2014, when no gay groups were allowed to openly march, and he skipped again last year, when only one small lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender group was permitted.

“The St Patrick’s Day parade is a New York City tradition, but for years Irish LGBT New Yorkers could not show their pride,” De Blasio told the AP. “Finally, they can celebrate their heritage by marching in a parade that now represents progress and equality.”
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