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Veteran who was to lead St. Patrick's Day parade quits over decision to bar gay vets
By adamg on Wed, 03/08/2017 - 10:52am
Dan Magoon, who heads an organization to honor and support Iraq and Afghanistan veterans and their families, today quit his honorary position as head of the South Boston St. Patrick's Day parade after its organizers voted to bar a gay veterans group from the procession.
Mayor Walsh also said this morning he will not march in the parade if the votes stands.
In a message to the board of the Allied War Veterans Council this morning, Magoon, founder of Massachusetts Fallen Heroes, explained his decision to step down as chief marshal:
I have worked hard over the years to support returning Veterans and their families. We have fought battles across this City, State and Country in regards to Veterans rights, benefits, employment, mental health, discriminatory practices, and many other significant areas important to our Veterans. To be a part of a parade excluding OutVets does not coincide with the work I do advocating for all Veterans.
The severity that this decision weighs not only negatively impacts OutVets, but also the families of Veterans, thus crating a ripple effect across our community.
I wish the parade success. The freedoms that we possess to hold such an event is due to the men and women who have spilled their blood in defense to this great nation, regarless of where they come from, what they look like, or who they share relations with.
OutVets had marched in the 2015 and 2016 parades after years of being barred from the parade.. The Globe reports the council voted 9-4 to bar them again.
In a statement this morning, Mayor Walsh said:
I will not tolerate discrimination in our city of any form. We are one Boston, which means we are a fully inclusive city. I will not be marching in the parade unless this is resolved. Anyone who values what our city stands for should do the same.
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Comments
Good for him
Guy has the courage of his convictions. I admire the hell out of that.
Well done Mr. Magoon
Well done Mr. Magoon. Hand Salute.
There is one little fact that
There is one little fact that everyone is missing and it isn't being mentioned by the media, there application was LATE. That is why they were denied.
A red herring.
Red herrings must be the in food nowadays. Seems that anyone trying to avoid embarrassing facts is serving them aplenty.
I read the application. There is no deadline.
Move this silly parade
it's time to move this parade to boylston street and fewnay.
the parade caters to 4 groups of people (none of which live in South Boston):
1. families that got priced out and live on the south shore.
2. College kids
3. suburban teenagers.
4. Bros that got priced out and live in dorchester now.
In 2017, the actual residents living in South Boston do not want this parade. Move it!...or better yet, do the entire city a favor and cancel it.
- A South Boston Community Member
why don't YOU move
instead. Everyone wins? You could be the Worcester Yuppie, or the Lowell Yuppie. Go settled uncharted and un-starbuxt lands....
Have an adventure and in the meantime, stop posting to Uhub! Its a dream!
Daan, the deadline was 2/15
Daan, the deadline was 2/15/17. Seems like you missed an embarrassing website.
http://southbostonparade.org/participate/
My mistake for reading only the application
Perhaps the deadline should also be on the application?
But did the organizers prove that the application was filed after the deadline? If the issue was only a deadline why did 4 people on the organizing committee vote to allow the group anyway?
Thank you for your service.
Thank you for your service. You are a true American.
Allied War Veterans Council has failed too many times
If Allied War Veterans Council doesn't respect all veterans, what are they doing hosting the parade? Especially when it's held in public and policed with public money. Enough. Get a new vets group to run it.
I think you mean
"Allied" War Veterans Council
IIRC they found a loophole
If I recall the first fight over gays being denied the request to march in the parade to get around it the organizers stopped applying for a parade permit and instead applied for a permit to hold a political march with "pro family values" listed as the cause. That gave them the ability to restrict the groups involved.
I'm fuzzy on the details, but it was something like that.
HURLEY v. IRISH-AMERICAN GAY GROUP OF BOSTON, (1995)
http://caselaw.findlaw.com/us-supreme-court/515/557.html
"The state courts' application of the Massachusetts public accommodations law to require private citizens who organize a parade to include among the marchers a group imparting a message that the organizers do not wish to convey violates the First Amendment."
SCOTUS turned that over
I wasn't living here at the time so I only vaguely remember this stuff. It seems that the Supreme Court overturned the SJC and lower federal court ruling though.
http://www.nytimes.com/1995/06/20/us/supreme-court-boston-march-high-cou...
Is That The San Diego Chicken?
No wait, it is Ed Flynn. Nice job Son-Of-Raybo. You've demonstrated the skill and courage in keeping other veterans from marching we all expected from you and your desperate attempt to keep the family "legacy" going.
Tito Jackson and Ed should get together and have a pander fest at Marian Manor. Just hope some of the old ladies whom are you are desperate to get votes from don't roll off this mortal coil between now and election day.
Wait, why hit Flynn for this?
He spoke against the vote, at least according to the Globe.
He Could Have Had Enough Sway To Change The Vote
In this day and age and as a member he could have swayed the vote.
What happened to this organization that it reverted to Cro-Magnon behavior after nothing, nothing earth shattering happened because of few people who served this country happen to like a member of the same sex marched in a parade?
Ed Flynn did serve this country, for many, many years, but he should drop his membership in the SBAWVC if he wants a political future in the city.
Were you there?
The guy voted No. How does any of us know what else he could have done? I really think you have to give the guy a pass on this one.
Fine
I take back what I said. I apologize. I would never vote for him, if I could, but maybe he did try.
Then Flynn should resign from
Then Flynn should resign from the Allied War Veterans Council.
If you are a member of an organization that discriminates and are truly against that discrimination, get out. Would he stay at a club that barred jews or blacks from joining even if he says he voted not to bar them? Voting against it when it was going to pass either way but staying on at the club is typical politician bs trying to have it both ways.
Ed Flynn
Was the deciding vote in favor of them marching when they won the right to march. Now he is vilified for remaining consistent?
Trump Happened
If you haven't been paying attention, Trump happened. Bigots of all stripes and sizes now feel free to cast aspersions on any group they look down on.
Kudos to Dan Magoon for having the courage of his convictions to stand for all veterans.
Nothing to do with Trump,
Nothing to do with Trump, been going on for years.
Thanks Obama
It's been settled for years
For the last two years, they've allowed OUTVETS to march. Now all of a sudden they reverse that decision?
What possible change in the world could have emboldened the bigots in this group? I wonder...
The test will be if Flynn marches
if he does, then his vote was meaningless and more likely to just provide him political cover. I am am betting he will march though. Since his supports, Lynch, Collins, and Linehan march.
As I alway say...
Ditch Lynch!
Not a Lynch fan, but...
Lynch has already said he's not going to march if they don't allow OUTVETS to participate.
congratulations
Congratulations to the gentleman for living by his core values of decency.
Why doesn't the city just deny the permit for the parade?
I guess they just don't have the courage of Mr. Magoon
Thank you for your service, sir
First Amendment
The council has the same First Amendment rights as anybody else to hold a march. Even more specifically, the US Supreme Court ruled the city of Boston cannot prohibit the South Boston parade just because it's run by a bunch of bigots.
yes, but...
we shouldn't be using public money (can you imagine the BPD overtime on this parade) to fund bigotry
Maybe they're there to protect us from the bigots?
One of the key roles police perform is to maintain public safety. If a group, acting under the First Amendment, holds a large demonstration, as a Boston resident, yes, I'd want my police department out there protecting the public - whether they're 19th-century bigots or righteous citizens outraged at things happening in Washington.
rules
Is the city obligated to approve the permit and if so under what conditions?
Once they permit it, is the city obligated to appropriate public safety funds to control traffic and run public safety details?
First Amendment
That didn't stop Mayor Tom Menino from speaking out to prevent the bigoted Chick-Fil-Lay from opening in our city. BTW, reports I've read said that the Allied Vets claimed it was against their rules for particpants to express their sexual orientaion. Bet they didn't say that when gay vets out in the field were saving their cro-magnon asses.
"bar gay vets"
Is "bar gay vets" the same as "bar a gay veterans group"?
The other side believes they are very different.
The other side is to laugh
OutVets consists of gay vets. By banning the group, the organizers are banning gay vets.
It's not 1960, anymore.
Very different
From "gay bar vets."
marty
'not marching' is not strong enough i think
And what else can he do?
He can and will do the exact same thing Thomas M. Menino did for 20 years, which is to decry the decision and not march.
In general, I cannot believe that this happened. I thought everyone worked everything out on this a few years back. Why the change?
Walsh statement
I am not exactly a Walsh supporter, but I find his statement to be very strong, especially the "anyone who values what our city stands for should do the same"
Tom Menino Parade Note
He went to nearly every parade. He didn't march however. He typically did the house party circuit, which is just as important in pressing the flesh for votes, since the people in the houses were Boston voters and not the 1/8th Irish on my grandmother's side from Abington set.
Great friend
...to LGBT community...
He loudly called out anti-gay bigots long before it was cool to do so. He put his personal, moral and religious values right out there. He set the tone for mayors beyond Boston. Good guy.
i dont know
ride a flamingo and stab the leader of the other parade with a rainbow stake
people don't need to have all the answers just because they feel something isn't the right answer
Not allowing OUTVETS to march, is just plain, Wacko.
Good for Mr. Magoon to stand up for his beliefs.
Just think of the message it would send, if the AWVC held the parade anyway, no one shows up to watch and no one else marches...
9 who voted against
who are these 9 people who voted against outvets?
Yup, Adam
Can we get names and a story on the org? Seems like important local news.
Bucky, Lumpy, Bash, Knocko, Duffa
Bubba, Dukey, Lefty and Chickey.
SBAWVC time to join us in the
SBAWVC time to join us in the 21st Century. You have gravely damaged the reputation of our community and our Evacuation Day Parade.
No City Support
Thank you, Mr. Magoon and Mayor Walsh. The city should pull any and all support for this parade including police, fire, and so on. Everything it can legally take away. They want to run a discriminatory parade that they mention non-stop is 'private' due to that Supreme Court decision, then let them do it on their own.
Where was Walsh when pro-life women were banned from march?
Mayor Walsh loses any remaining credibility by speaking out for this fringe group while remaining silent on the ban of a pro-life women's group at the Women's March on Washington, even though he had plenty to say on the Common in support of that march, thus tacitly endorsing the ban. He said nothing on behalf of pro-life women but certainly will have his picture taken at Easter Mass, Midnight Mass or whenever it is politically expedient. Fraud.
zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz
n/t
its a shame
that your mother was seemingly pro life as well
He was busy running the
City.
you might want to check those "facts" you throw around...
there was no pro-life ban at the women's march. there were actually a decent number of pro-life women marching. there are photos of this, and first person accounts. it actually happened.
what i think you are referencing is that the women's march briefly had the group New Wave Feminists as a sponsor of the march, and then dropped them. the theory was that the basic beliefs of NWF was incompatible with the stated values and principles of the march. these values included:
the march dropped them as a sponsor and apologized for including them, and reiterated their support to pro-choice options and reproductive freedom for women.
so they weren't banned. they were dropped as a sponsor, which is incredibly different.
WHAT THE ...?
Fringe group? Veterans who served our nation honorable and valiantly, risking their lives for our freedoms? You call that a fringe group? These are Americans worthy of all the rights and protections of every other American citizen.
Cambridge St. Patrick's Day Parade.
Bring back the Cambridge St. Patrick's Day Parade!
The Cambridge St. Patricks Day Parade was suspended
as it was an affront to snakes. According to unsubstantiated history, snakes were driven from Ireland by the vehemently anti-snake St. Patrick.
Semper Fi
Big Red!
Southie State Rep Nick
Southie State Rep Nick Collins has said he won't march either if they exclude OutVets. The dam has broken.
http://www.facebook.com/repnickcollins/posts/10155125610644207
Poor Nick. Even when he doesn't do something no one
notices...
That's a shock
Nick has happily walked in the parade for years..
Revenge is best served cold
They may bar gays from the parade but they can't stop them from buying up all the property in South Boston.
To Dan and Marty
You guys got balls. Good for you 2. SEMPER FI !!!!!!!!!!
Even the Stop & Shop is pulling out
NBC Boston has the latest: The South Boston Stop & Shop will no longer sponsor the parade and neither will the Dedham Savings Bank. And Anheuser Busch is pissed.
Typo?
Should be Anheuser Busch is piss.
But seriously folks, this anti gay stuff has got to stop.
Council: We don't care, no gays
The Globe reports that even as sponsors, politicians and their own chief marshal drop out, the council that runs the parade voted again tonight to keep OutVets out.
Welp
It's their hill to die on, I guess.
But they don't own the streets and they use them for their parade by permission. It will take more integrity than I think our politicians have at present, but Just Saying No to the parade is always an option.
End the parade until a more responsible organization can run it
No other neighborhood or town parade get embroiled in this controversy year after year. Not Roslindale, not Dorchester, not Charlestown, not East Boston or the North End (which alternate having a Columbus Day parade), not Somerville, not Arlington, not Lexington ....
They don't ban Gays; they just hate fags.
Item 5 from their Rules and Regulations:
They don't ban groups based on sexual orientation. But they ban Outvets for no other reason than the fact that they exist as a group because 1) they are veterans, 2) make clear they are veterans and 3) as the reason for being a group is that they are also Gay.
Are they displaying their sexual orientation? How does one display sexual orientation? Probably through sex. So if the Outvets are not having sex on the street they are not displaying their sexual orientation.
The event is focused on religious, cultural and historical themes. Perhaps cultural can include the Hollywood fantasy Star Wars characters that march as a group; however Star Wars fantasy figures are veterans in fantasy only. They have no connection to being a veteran except perhaps for celebrating war.
Gay culture however, as represented by Gay veterans, combines a cultural theme along with the theme of military veterans. For the organizers then to include a non-veteran group that is "cultural" only (which opens them up lots of other cultural themes) but to exclude a veterans group which wants to let people know they are also Gay (a cultural concept as much as biological) then the organizers are just plain ugly, gross hypocrites. The sort of people that their own deity would thrown into Purgatory for a couple of thousand years.
What is with the conflagration of a religious event and a political-historical event? The two do not go together. If this was a parade solely about Irish Catholicism then perhaps they can make a legitimate point of exclusion. I would not want to join Italian Catholic parades as part of a Gay group (well, perhaps as a Knight of the Society of St. Sebastian). But the parade is also about a historical and political event.
Evacuation Day remembers an event that was at the heart of politics; it was about who will have political authority and power. It was an act of civil war between the British colonies against at the time their lawful government. So to celebrate Evacuation Day is to celebrate an event of a political theme. They then can not argue that they exclude any political theme if that they game they want to play.
The parade organizers can throw as many words as they want to create a smokescreen. What is boils down to is that in the vote 9 people said they hate fags.