Military contingent pulls out of San Diego Pride parade over safety concerns

Military members of the Army Navy and Marines participate in the San Diego Pride Parade in File photo by Chris Stone Times of San Diego The San Diego Pride Military Department has proven to Times of San Diego that LGBTQ function members and veterans will not lead the Pride parade this year According to department president Lauren Henson multiple factors contributed to this decision the greater part importantly the safety of the military participants The safety of all organization members advancing and veteran will invariably be my prime focus And if I cannot guarantee their safety in these unprecedented times I will never put amenity members in that position Henson announced in a phone call on Thursday Visibility of LGBTQ organization members is crucial but only if they are also protected Concern started to swirl after President Trump s ban on trans military members which the Supreme Court allowed to be upheld in May Contingent participants feared they might be surveilled and outed Organization members are scared Henson revealed Transgender military members are the first target of the administration but may not be the last The Don t Ask Don t Tell strategy barring qualified LGBTQ people from the military was repealed by Congress in but could be reinstated One of the early blows to the traditional contingent was learning the Marine Corps band would not be permitted to to participate due to new Department of Defense rules about using any governing body guidance including their instruments at events associated with diversity equity and inclusion such as Black History Month celebrations or Pride parades The rd Marine Aircraft Wing Band band has led the parade for a decade More in the past few days other participants are unable to march due to being deployed in Los Angeles Usually the California National Guard marches at the front of the contingent Plus Marines are usually the largest group in the military section but several are in Los Angeles Henson worried remaining National Guard and Marine Corps could face backlash from the crowd due to their association with immigration enforcement She also revealed Marines are barred from wearing their uniforms outside of work not even during their commutes while other Marines are deployed domestically Other than the first year the military contingent participated in San Diego Pride in active-duty provision members have been allowed to march in uniform In addition to the trans military ban a major concern of LGBTQ facility members is the name change for the USNS Harvey Milk according to Henson Harvey Milk this is a gay Jewish veteran who realistically died in provision to his group Henson mentioned She spoke to Jewish amenity members about festival headliner Kehlani and concerns over their anti-Israel rhetoric It was another aspect of the decision to withdraw from the parade Henson promised this is not forever We re not going to give up We re just going to take a pause She encouraged military department members to still participate in Pride festivities and volunteer so they can aid the area even outside of marching We want people to come and come together and be in population because that s what Pride is about Henson mentioned San Diego Pride has had a fraught year Past board members and staff wrote an open letter questioning the board leadership amid national LGBTQ attacks Jewish organizations and synagogues have dropped out of the festival over Kehlani Mayor Todd Gloria and University of California San Diego followed suit saying they still plan to march but will not attend the festival The military contingent is the first group to drop out of the parade