For the first time in almost 115 years, OUTVET, a group honoring gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender veterans will be allowed to march in the upcoming South Boston St. Patrick’s Day Parade. The event, one of the largest of its kind in the nation, will be held March 15, 2015 and will finally make room for a group that as recently as 1992, were legally banned from participating , according to a report on BostonGlobe.com.
“The Allied War Veterans Council voted, 5 to 4, in favor of OUTVETS, according to its founder, Bryan Bishop, who addressed the council. “I think it’s very significant,” said Bishop, an Air Force veteran who works as chief of staff in Boston’s Veterans Services department. “Ensuring that there is 100 percent inclusivity is important.” Bishop also noted that OUTVETS is not a political action group seeking to break barriers. “The organization honors all veterans,” he said.
Contributing to their decision, it is believed, was the rapidly changing cultural landscape and, more prominently, Boston Mayor Martin J. “Marty” Walsh’s decision not to march in last year’s parade. This is thought to be the first time a Boston mayor has boycotted what is one of the most highly visible public events in a city with the largest Irish-American population in the United States.
“We’re very pleased to hear that OUTVETS will be marching in this year’s parade,” Walsh’s press secretary, Kate Norton, said in a statement Monday. “Mayor Walsh has been advocating for an inclusive parade for quite some time. We’re thrilled to hear that the South Boston Allied Veterans have decided to make the 2015 parade an inclusive event.”
On their end, OUTVETS added on their application that “it included “LGBT veterans” and had no political or social agenda. They plan to march with a banner that includes symbols representing the military, the struggle of the gay community and St. Patrick’s Day.
OUTVETS recently marched in last November’s Veteran’s Day Parade without incident.
“
To other people, it will be a big thing,” said Brian Mahoney, commander of the Veterans Council. “But to us, it’s a group of veterans that wanted to march and deserved to be honored.”
