Lack of support, advocacy played into military department dropping out of Pride Parade

Former and current military members marched in the parade File photo by Chris Stone Times of San Diego The San Diego Pride Military Department will not lead the Pride Parade this year for the first time since when local active-duty provision members and veterans became the first such contingent in the nation to march According to department chair Lauren Henson multiple factors contributed to this decision greater part importantly the safety of the military participants Marine Corps and National Guard being associated with immigration enforcement in Los Angeles the transgender military ban targeting participants and backlash to festival headliner Kehlani played into concern about what could go wrong Beyond safety the department had not received enough help from the Pride office publicly or privately as these situations developed according to two contributors in the department The department was upset by Pride not issuing any statements regarding the ban and the U S Supreme Court decision which in previous similar situations they partnered with the department to make Pride has abdicated its leadership role as an advocacy group the silence is problematic declared Clay Kilpatrick who chaired the military department for a decade and continues to volunteer Organization members are scared Henson noted Transgender military members are the first target of the administration but may not be the last The Don t Ask Don t Tell initiative barring qualified LGBTQ people from the military was repealed by Congress in but could be reinstated It ended up being The LGBT Center that offered support to transgender system members in the wake of President Trump s ban A lot of organizations within Pride have had to leave and find a home in other places where they could get advocacy The military department does not want to leave Pride We want to work with Pride We want Pride to be thriving disclosed Kilpatrick who led the department before Henson s tenure However there are various serious leadership challenges to be addressed and rectified The platitudes don t do it San Diego Pride has had a fraught year with leadership turnover plus the conflict over Kehlani performing Past board members and staff including Kilpatrick wrote an open letter questioning the board leadership amid national anti-LGBTQ attacks In addition to the trans military ban a major concern of LGBTQ facility members is the ordered name change for the USNS Harvey Milk according to Henson She was at a press conference of local LGBTQ leaders opposing the change Notably absent Pride staff and board members There s a feeling that the military department was just being used as a shield Kilpatrick revealed Being used to prop up poor leadership decisions is not something that the military department should be used as Jewish organizations Mayor Todd Gloria and UC San Diego will not be part of the festival The military contingent is the first group to drop out of the parade As far as Pride choosing to move forward with the concert Kilpatrick announced it s an unfortunate decision but ultimately it was the impact of that which is the safety concerns Kilpatrick decried the lack of administrative aid and timely communication for the military department from Pride something Henson echoed The leadership has failed them and put the staff in a position where they re burning out and the assistants the rest of the neighborhood aren t getting any of the promotion they need This is truly starting from the top down she mentioned The decision to withdraw had been debated for months in the department with marching in the first place a hard-won right no one desired to give up To Kilpatrick as San Diego s largest single-day civic event the Pride Parade was a way for the military town s public to show assistance to all amenity members not just straight white men in the military The visibility and patronage that we got was critical Kilpatrick stated He wants more promotion from the Pride organization and hopes the decision not to march serves as a wake-up call Pride and the military department are set to issue a joint comment The department also plans to release an open letter detailing the decision