Mayor Bloomberg and Governor David Paterson took part in the parade, as did Constance McMillen, a lesbian student that sued her school district in Mississippi after same-sex prom dates were banned.
Late Saturday, a 19 year old man was killed and two others injured during a shooting at a gay pride celebration in California. It's not certain whether or not the gay rights festivities were to blame for the violence.
During the parade in New York City, there was plenty of celebration, but still yet a certain sadness over the death which occurred several thousand miles away. If there's something about the gay pride community, it's that they stick together and are like one big family.
Stephen Powell is the name of the young man whose life was cut incredibly short for reasons that aren't known yet. Was it a robbery gone bad? Was it an anti-gay individual?
During the festivities in New York, St. Francis Xavier's church still marched during the parade as they have for the past 12 years. The church welcomes homosexual Catholics back into the fold, and hands out brochures. This year, the banner that they marched under was blank a church leader didn't want the name of the church associated with the march, worried that the public could consider the Church's presence an indicator of support of a promiscuous lifestyle.
Thousands joined in on the festivities and it truly was a day of fun celebrations.
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