Gay Pride parades across the country this weekend took on additional meaning this year following the Orlando massacre, the designation of the first national monument to gay rights and the one-year anniversary of marriage equality.
Sunday was exactly two weeks since the Pulse nightclub shooting where 49 people lost their lives and another 53 were injured. Throughout the country, the typically festive parades led off with tributes to the Orlando victims. In New York, the owner of Pulse, Barbara Poma, and the club’s manager, Neema Bahrami, rode the lead float and read out the names of those lost. In Chicago, 49 marchers lead the parade each holding a poster-sized photograph of a different Orlando victim, with the words, “Never forget.”
Parade-goers also held up signs honoring the victims and displayed anti-violence messages.
