NEW YORK (Reuters) - The man in charge of Manhattan's St. Patrick's Day parade has fueled a controversy by saying allowing a gay group to join Friday's march would be like permitting neo-Nazis to participate in an Israeli parade.
In an interview with The Irish Times, parade committee chairman John Dunleavy defended the organizers' decision to bar the Irish Lesbian and Gay Organization from participating in the biggest St. Patrick's Day party in the world.
"If an Israeli group wants to march in New York, do you allow neo-Nazis into their parade? If African-Americans are marching in Harlem, do they have to let the Ku Klux Klan into their parade?" Dunleavy was quoted as saying.
"People have rights. If we let the ILGO in, is it the Irish Prostitute Association next?" he said.
The Roman Catholic organizers of the New York event have long refused to let gays and lesbians march as a group because the church believes homosexuality is wrong.
In 1995 the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that organizers of a St. Patrick's Day parade in Boston had the constitutional free-speech right to exclude gays and lesbians.
The gay rights campaigners' cause has been taken up this year by newly elected City Council Speaker Christine Quinn, the first openly gay woman to lead the council and an Irish American.
She boycotted the Manhattan march after failing to persuade organizers to lift their veto. Quoted in The Daily News, she condemned Dunleavy's comments, saying: "They are so outrageous, I don't even think they dignify a response."
A SIDE ISSUE
As marching bands led by shivering cheerleaders, ranks of uniformed police and firefighters and revelers sporting green hats and shamrocks lined up to join the parade up 5th Avenue, several participants said the dispute was a side issue.
Kiki Culleton, a court employee from the Bronx, said Dunleavy's remarks were "a bit strong" but that organizers did not allow any group to march under a separate banner.
"It's all about the country of Ireland," she said, standing by the drum she plays in the New York State Courts Band. "It's an Irish Catholic Parade and our teachings, maybe not our personal beliefs, but our teachings say that's wrong."
St. Patrick's Day has become a citywide party in New York that sees bars decked out in green and hundreds of thousands of revelers from diverse backgrounds joining the fun.
Gay couple Vincent Frato, a 45-year-old photographer of Spanish and American Indian descent, and Jean-Charles David, a 31-year-old massage therapist from France, came to the parade in sweatshirts with the logo "Men in Kilts New York."
"In the Irish community here, there's a lot of firefighters and police officers and traditionally it's not a very gay-friendly crowd, but that's changing," David said, sporting a red tartan kilt that he made himself.
Frato said Dunleavy's comments did not reflect the views of most New Yorkers. "It's a very liberal city and outside of the parade organizers, everyone is welcoming," he said.
In an interview with The Irish Times, parade committee chairman John Dunleavy defended the organizers' decision to bar the Irish Lesbian and Gay Organization from participating in the biggest St. Patrick's Day party in the world.
"If an Israeli group wants to march in New York, do you allow neo-Nazis into their parade? If African-Americans are marching in Harlem, do they have to let the Ku Klux Klan into their parade?" Dunleavy was quoted as saying.
"People have rights. If we let the ILGO in, is it the Irish Prostitute Association next?" he said.
The Roman Catholic organizers of the New York event have long refused to let gays and lesbians march as a group because the church believes homosexuality is wrong.
In 1995 the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that organizers of a St. Patrick's Day parade in Boston had the constitutional free-speech right to exclude gays and lesbians.
The gay rights campaigners' cause has been taken up this year by newly elected City Council Speaker Christine Quinn, the first openly gay woman to lead the council and an Irish American.
She boycotted the Manhattan march after failing to persuade organizers to lift their veto. Quoted in The Daily News, she condemned Dunleavy's comments, saying: "They are so outrageous, I don't even think they dignify a response."
A SIDE ISSUE
As marching bands led by shivering cheerleaders, ranks of uniformed police and firefighters and revelers sporting green hats and shamrocks lined up to join the parade up 5th Avenue, several participants said the dispute was a side issue.
Kiki Culleton, a court employee from the Bronx, said Dunleavy's remarks were "a bit strong" but that organizers did not allow any group to march under a separate banner.
"It's all about the country of Ireland," she said, standing by the drum she plays in the New York State Courts Band. "It's an Irish Catholic Parade and our teachings, maybe not our personal beliefs, but our teachings say that's wrong."
St. Patrick's Day has become a citywide party in New York that sees bars decked out in green and hundreds of thousands of revelers from diverse backgrounds joining the fun.
Gay couple Vincent Frato, a 45-year-old photographer of Spanish and American Indian descent, and Jean-Charles David, a 31-year-old massage therapist from France, came to the parade in sweatshirts with the logo "Men in Kilts New York."
"In the Irish community here, there's a lot of firefighters and police officers and traditionally it's not a very gay-friendly crowd, but that's changing," David said, sporting a red tartan kilt that he made himself.
Frato said Dunleavy's comments did not reflect the views of most New Yorkers. "It's a very liberal city and outside of the parade organizers, everyone is welcoming," he said.