The drinks sponsor pulled the plug on their sponsorship after gay and lesbian groups were excluded
Guinness – a huge sponsor of New York’s St Patrick’s Day parade – withdrew their support for today’s event, after organisers once again banned openly gay marchers from taking part. The famous beer brand dropped their sponsorship of the yearly celebration of the emerald isle’s patron, when the parade’s organisers said that letting members of the LGBT openly take part would conflict with their Roman Catholic heritage. Guinness’ move was also echoed by other global brand names Sam Adams and Heineken who pulled out of events in Boston and New York.
Being as intrinsically Irish as Ronan Keating doing the Riverdance with Sinead O’Connor, Guinness pulling out of the parades in the US is a major sign of the times. Diageo, the company that own the brand said: “Guinness has a strong history of supporting diversity and being an advocate for equality for all. We were hopeful that the policy of exclusion would be reversed for this year’s parade.” I have to say, it’s pretty heartening to see one of the biggest names in booze supporting of the LGBT community, so kudos to Guinness.
The Stonewall Inn, which was at the epicentre of the Stonewall Riots of 1969, had threatened to drop Guinness from the bar in protest of the exclusion of the LGBT community. This was, however, called off after the Dublin based beer manufacturer showed their support for the campaign.
It’s not only booze makers that are against this, either. The mayors of New York and Boston, Bill de Blaiso and Marty Walsh respectively, both decided not to march in their cities parades. Marty’s touching sentiment was revealed in The Chicago Tribune where he was quoted as saying: “As mayor of the city of Boston, I have to do my best to ensure that all Bostonians are free to participate fully in the civic life of our city. Unfortunately, this year, the parties were not able to come to an understanding that would have made that possible.” It’s nice when public servants serve the public, y’know?
While openly gay members of the public are allowed to march, parade organisers have said, they are prohibited from carrying signs identifying with or supporting an LGBT agenda.
Over one million people are involved in New York’s parade every year and the absence of such significant names will be sure to leave a notable absence.
Image: William Murphy via Flickr
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