Pride parade organizers in San Francisco joined a growing list of LGBT organizations barring police officers from marching in uniform, according to a report from Axios.
Suzanne Ford, the executive director of San Francisco Pride, told LGBT police officers in the city that they are welcome to march in the city’s Pride parade, but are barred from doing so in uniform, according to ABC 7.
“We want [the San Francisco Police Department] to march in the parade,” Ford said. “They can march in matching t-shirts that say SF police, or SF County Sheriff’s Department. That’s fine, but no full uniform.”
The San Francisco Police (SFPD) Officers Pride Alliance announced that they will not march in the Pride parade as they feel the dress code is unjust. San Francisco Mayor London Breed announced that she would join the LGBT police community in its refusal to attend the Pride event.
“This committee would not order the leather community to wear polyester at the parade,” the Officer Pride Alliance statement reads. “This committee would not order the drag community to wear flannel. But they have told us, peace officers, that if we wear our uniforms, we may not attend.”
SF Mayor @LondonBreed will not march in #PrideParade over @SFPD and @SheriffSF uniform ban. Here’s part of the mayor’s statement: “…if the Pride Board does not reverse its decision, I will join our city public safety departments that are not participating in the Pride Parade.” pic.twitter.com/GelVXaruQL
— Lyanne Melendez (@LyanneMelendez) May 23, 2022
Officer Kathryn Winters of the SFPD Officer Pride Alliance told ABC 7 that the police utilize Pride events to build relationships with members of the community.
“I would really like San Francisco Pride to embrace the values of San Francisco, the values of radical inclusion,” Winters said. “We want to be able to show the members of our community that there are people just like you who put on these uniforms every day and are out there to support, help, and protect you.”
Another LGBT advocacy organization in Minneapolis, OutFront Minnesota, vowed not to participate in the Twin Cities Pride festival after the event announced that police will be present, according to Axios.
Capitol Hill Pride in Seattle also banned officers in uniform from participating in its rallies and marches, per a local news outlet. (RELATED: Pre-K Teacher Resigns After LGBT, Pregnant Man Flashcards Found In Classroom)
Pride events in Denver, Albuquerque, and New York City banned officers in uniform from participating in Pride parades in years past, according to Axios. In 2021, New York City Pride organizers banned the New York Police Department from events until 2025.
Axios argues that the removal of uniformed police officers comes amid a coalition between LGBT activists and Black Lives Matter activists.
San Francisco Pride did not respond to the Daily Caller’s request for comment.