NYC mayor marches in St. Pat’s for All parade

NEW YORK – Mayor Bill de Blasio told hundreds of participants at a lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender-friendly St. Patrick’s Day parade on Sunday that a society for all is one that embraces and respects everyone.

The St. Pat’s for All parade stepped off in Queens under a heavy snowfall. It was held as an alternative to the city’s centuries-old St. Patrick’s Day Parade in Manhattan, which for years has excluded gay groups and this year is scheduled for March 17.

“You are a hardy troupe,” he told people gathered for the parade. “You are here to celebrate no matter what. That is what pride is all about – pride in the fact that in New York City you can be whoever you are.”

De Blasio, a Democrat, refused to march in last year’s Manhattan parade because it wasn’t fully inclusive, and Guinness beer dropped its sponsorship. Organizers said last year, though, that they would welcome one gay contingent under its own banner this year.

The mayor said on Sunday: “A society for everyone is a society where everyone is respected, where everyone is embraced, where everyone has a say at the table.”