A detailed story is in the Boston Globe.....
Candidates for mayor in Boston have had to decide on whether to march in Sunday's annual Saint Patrick's Day parade in South Boston, a decision that could have political implications.
Mayor Thomas M. Menino has spurned participation in the parade for years because of the organizers' refusal to allow gay groups to register and march.
Challengers Sam Yoon and Michael F. Flaherty, city councilors who are loath to turn their backs on a high-profile community event in a voter-rich section of the city, say they will march, but insist that does not mean they endorse the prohibition on gay groups' participation. A third challenger, South End businessman Kevin McCrea, will sit it out.
It is a political quandary over an issue that has loomed over the annual event since 1995, when the US Supreme Court unanimously affirmed the parade organizers' right to exclude gay groups from the parade. But the man most closely associated with the ban, John "Wacko" Hurley, who organizes the parade for the Allied War Veterans of South Boston, is stepping down from his post after this year. And that has some wondering whether the policy will end with his tenure.
"We hope so," said Dot Joyce, Menino's spokeswoman. "It's time. There's no reason that everyone should not be allowed to march in that parade."
Mayor Thomas M. Menino has spurned participation in the parade for years because of the organizers' refusal to allow gay groups to register and march.
Challengers Sam Yoon and Michael F. Flaherty, city councilors who are loath to turn their backs on a high-profile community event in a voter-rich section of the city, say they will march, but insist that does not mean they endorse the prohibition on gay groups' participation. A third challenger, South End businessman Kevin McCrea, will sit it out.
It is a political quandary over an issue that has loomed over the annual event since 1995, when the US Supreme Court unanimously affirmed the parade organizers' right to exclude gay groups from the parade. But the man most closely associated with the ban, John "Wacko" Hurley, who organizes the parade for the Allied War Veterans of South Boston, is stepping down from his post after this year. And that has some wondering whether the policy will end with his tenure.
"We hope so," said Dot Joyce, Menino's spokeswoman. "It's time. There's no reason that everyone should not be allowed to march in that parade."
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