SAN DIEGO: Court Upholds Settlement For Firemen "Forced" Into Gay Pride Parade

An appeals court has upheld a settlement ordered to be paid to four San Diego firemen who sued the city because they'd been told they must ride in the 2007 gay pride parade. The delicate snowflakes claimed sexual harassment because some parade attendees allegedly made obscene comments as they passed and because they witnessed men in Speedos making out. The anti-gay Alliance Defense Fund represented the firemen.

The 2009 jury found the firefighters were sexually harassed by some parade participants and spectators and awarded them a total of $34,300 plus more than a half-million dollars in legal fees. The firefighters, John Ghiotto, Chad Allison, Jason Hewitt and Alexander Kane, had always maintained money was not the issue and that they had sued because they felt it was wrong to have been forced by their superiors to take part in the parade. By 2008 the fire department had changed its policy saying parades should be staffed only by volunteers. “I’m happy with the ruling,” Ghiotto said Friday. “The amount of money the city has spent on this is amazing — I’ll bet it’s in the millions by now. This whole thing could have been solved in a day. They knew two or three days before that we didn’t want to be in that parade.” Ghiotto said all four firefighters are still with the department.

According to the court: "The record contains substantial evidence to support a finding that the sexual harassment experienced by the Firefighters during the Pride Parade was severe and pervasive, thus altering the conditions of employment and creating a hostile or abusive work environment." The city says it may further appeal the case to a higher court.