JULY 7, 1995 GAY PEOPLE'S CHRONICLE
SPEAK OUT
The St. Pat's decision was a victory for freedom of speech
by Mubarak S. Dahir
I wholly understand and strongly support the First Amendment guarantee to freedom of speech which caused the Supreme Court to rule on June 19 that gay and lesbian marchers may be excluded from Boston's St. Patrick's Day Parade.
But First Amendment victories not withstanding, it was still hard to feel good
about the final outcome of this epi-
sode in America homophobia.
Court may have
unpopular voices of gay men and lesbians.
I know they are right, and yet it is hard for me to take much solace in it.
In the courts, the issue being debated may be the First Amendment, but in the streets the real issue is homophobia. Anti-gay and antilesbian forces are sure to twist the ruling into a message on gay and lesbian civil rights rather than one on freedom of speech. When I read in
Anti-gay and anti-lesbian forces are sure to twist the ruling into a message on
The Supreme gay and lesbian civil rights rather than one on freedom of speech
made the right de-
cision, but that doesn't change the fact that the Boston
parade organizers made the wrong one.
Since 1992, the South Boston Allied War Veterans Council, which runs Boston's St. Patrick's Day parade, and the Irish-American Gay, Lesbian and Bisexual Group of Boston (GLIB) have been locked in legal battles over whether or not the gay group should be allowed to march. Last year, after a Massachusetts state court ruled in favor of the gay group, the veteran's council opted to cancel the parade rather than let their gay brothers and lesbian sisters march along side them. This despite the irony that in most cities-including Dublin, Ireland-gay and lesbian contingents do march in the St. Patrick's Day parades, and have done so for years without incident.
The Supreme Court ruling rightly states that a private parade is a form of expression, and that for the state to require the organizers to include a group that goes against their beliefs is an infringement on free speech.
No one knows better than gay men and lesbians the necessity of free speech and the symbolic importance of parades. Free speech has often been the lifeline of our civil rights movement. By being able to express ourselves—including in our own gay pride parades we have come a long way in changing public misconceptions about who we are and the validity of our civil rights struggle. Considering that our task is still unfinished on that front, we continue to lean heavily on the First Amendment to help us in our struggle. As a community, we should, theoretically at least, be thrilled with a solid victory for the First Amendment.
Gay and lesbian civil rights lawyers certainly are. I talked to three of them about this ruling, and they all told me the same thing: The thoughtfully worded court opinion took extra care not to make this an issue of gay and lesbian civil rights, but strictly one of freedom of speech. And a victory for freedom of speech is always a victory for the frequently
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the paper that the parade organizers say the court's ruling makes 'them feel "vindicated," it is unsettlingly clear they feel the court is supporting more than their right to speak up.
It is a sad irony that Boston's Irish Americans themselves once victims of widespread prejudice based on their heritage--must wrap themselves in so noble an idea of freedom of speech in order to be able to execute so despicable an act as discrimination. What kind of victory is that?
The whole thing is equally ironic for lesbian and gay Americans. First, it is a strong reminder that our toughest battles as gay men and lesbians will not be won or lost in the court rooms, but in the minds of men and women like the organizers of the Boston St. Patrick's Day Parade. And second, we are left with the reality that our best weapon in the struggle for our civil rights is the very one that seemingly caused this particular legal defeat.
The First Amendment is clearly the big winner in this ruling. But unfortunately, both gays and Irish Americans are its casualties.
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