NYC St. Patrick's Parade Head Ousted Over Opposition To Gay Participation

Irish Central reports:

John Dunleavy is out as chairman of the New York City St. Patrick’s Day parade, sources have told the Irish Voice and IrishCentral. A meeting of the parade officers and board members on Tuesday afternoon resulted in the ouster of Dunleavy, 78, in a move expected after the Irish Voice reported last month that Dunleavy said gay groups would “have a problem” marching in next year’s event. It is not yet known who will replace Dunleavy as chairman. Dunleavy was also offering the TV rights to the march to other local networks, in retaliation at NBC for being part of a compromise that allowed OUT@NBCUniversal to march behind its own banner this year. OUT is the network’s LGBT support group, and their participation marked the first time that a gay group marched up Fifth Avenue under its own banner.

Dunleavy's most likely replacement is current vice-chair John Lahey, who supports adding one more LGBT group for the 2016 parade. The parade lost major sponsors in recent years over the gay issue although Guinness Beer returned for the 2015 parade after the inclusion of the NBC group. Last year we learned that Catholic League blowhard Bill Donohue was campaigning to succeed Dunleavy, but obviously that will not happen now.

NEW YORK CITY: St. Patrick's Day Chair Says Gays Won't March in 2016 Parade

Ireland's historic vote on same-sex marriage apparently means nothing to the head of the New York City St. Patrick's Day Parade. The Irish Voice reports today that John Dunleavy, the chairman of the parade, is shopping the broadcast rights to the 2016 parade to other networks after NBC insisted that gay groups be allowed to march. Dunleavy has declared that gay groups will "have a problem" if they want to march in 2016.

The local NBC affiliate, Channel 4, has aired the Fifth Avenue parade live for several years, but was prepared to end its coverage in 2015 if organizers failed to include a gay marching unit, a divisive issue that caused controversy for decades. OUT@NBCUniversal, NBC’s LGBT support group, was given a place in the line of march – with the approval of Cardinal Timothy Dolan, who was named grand marshal -- NBC once again provided four hours of live TV coverage, and sponsors that had withdrawn support from the march in 2014 returned.

The Irish Voice has learned that the local Fox affiliate, WNYW Channel 5, has already passed on the chance to air the 2016 parade. Dunleavy and his allies on the committee have also reached out to WPIX Channel 11, but it is believed that the response will also be negative. “This is all about the gay issue,” one parade source told the Irish Voice. “It’s unfortunate that John Dunleavy just can’t let it go. It’s June, everyone is taking a breather but not him. He’s still angry.”

“Some of the guys talked to me. There is going to be some changes,” Dunleavy said when asked about next year’s march by the interviewer at a lunch for parade volunteers held at Antun’s in Queens. “No major changes but there is going to be changes. I am going to run for another term and [at] that time we will put certain items into the changes that we need.” Clearly commenting on the inclusion of gay groups in next year’s march, Dunleavy warned, “The parade itself is not there to promote anybody’s particular agenda in any way, shape or form. The parade represents our faith, our heritage and our culture, nothing more and nothing less. So we’re going to keep to that, and anybody who wants to mix that up is going to have a problem next year.”

NYC Mayor Bill De Blasio and other city leaders have boycotted the parade over the exclusion of LGBT groups. Hit the link for much more, including a video of the Dunleavy interview.

There's Leprechaun Porn?

Pornhub sends us the above ranking of St. Patrick's Day search terms. More proof that Rule #34 is true.

Irish Queers Protest At NYC Parade

Matt Baume On St. Patrick's Day Parades

Clip recap: "Why does it matter whether or not gays are allowed to march in the St. Patrick's Day Parade? Don't they have enough parades of their own? Let's talk about why gays and parades are such a big deal -- and why this year's parade is such an important change of pace from the 110 years that came before."

Bill Donohue Has The St. Patrick's Day Parade Sadz: My Own People Did Me In

Start at the 3:00 mark.

BOSTON: LGBT Groups March For First Time In St. Patrick's Day Parade

Via the Boston Globe:

History marched through South Boston on Sunday as gay organizations took their place for the first time in the annual St. Patrick’s Day parade. Joining them in front of hundreds of thousands of green-clad revelers was Mayor Martin J. Walsh, the first Boston chief executive to walk the route in two decades. “I’m very excited,” Walsh said just before stepping off under a light, cold rain. “We can finally move beyond the issue of inclusiveness.”

Walsh, who tried unsuccessfully in 2014 to negotiate the inclusion of a gay rights group, announced last week that he would walk the snow-shortened route from the Broadway MBTA station to Pleasure Bay because organizers had invited OUTVETS, which includes lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender veterans.

The former mayor, Thomas M. Menino, had consistently boycotted the parade because its organizers from the South Boston Allied War Veterans, backed by a US Supreme Court ruling, refused to allow gay groups to participate. But on Sunday, politicians were a major, can’t-miss part of the festivities. Governor Charlie Baker and Lieutenant Governor Karyn Polito were among them.

RELATED: Irish Queers will be staging their annual protest in New York City tomorrow despite the first time ever inclusion of a single LGBT group. Visit their Facebook event page.

VIRGINIA: Catholic Bishops Angry That Pro-Gay Gov Will Lead St. Patrick's Parade

The Catholic bishops of Virgina have issued a joint statement denouncing (of all groups) the Knights of Columbus over their invitation for Gov. Terry McAuliffe to lead this year's St. Patrick's Day Parade.

We are aware that the Knights of Columbus Council #3548 has extended an invitation to Virginia Governor Terry McAuliffe to serve as Grand Marshal of the 2015 Norfolk Saint Patrick's Day Parade which the Governor has accepted. Council #3548, a regional, not parish council, has sponsored and organized this parade since its inception in 1967. The invitation was issued without the advice or consent of the local parish priest, the local bishop, or the Knights state council. Together with our brother bishops, we have been clear, consistent and firm in upholding the truths reflected in the fundamental doctrine and moral principles of our faith. It is an erroneous and serious mistake in judgment for any Catholic organization to grant awards, honors and platforms to any public person who clearly acts in defiance to Catholic teaching. While one must always respect the Office of the Governor and the person holding that office, and dialogue should be fostered, one cannot deny that the Governor has made public statements in opposition to the moral teaching of the Catholic Church on issues pertaining to the dignity of human life and marriage.

Wingnut infighting. Never not funny.

QUEENS: De Blasio Marches In The LGBT Inclusive St. Pat's For All Parade

NYC Mayor Bill De Blasio helped carry the banner at the LGBT-inclusive St. Pat's For All Parade in Queens. Last year De Blasio boycotted the main parade in Manhattan but has not yet said if he will again this year.

NEW YORK CITY: Guinness To Return As Sponsor Of St. Patrick's Day Parade

 Via the Wall Street Journal:

Guinness has decided to resume sponsorship of the St. Patrick’s Day Parade on Fifth Avenue after dropping out last year, sparking criticism from gay activists who want a broad boycott because of what they call the organizers’ discriminatory policies. Diageo PLC, the parent company of Guinness, cited parade organizers’ decision to allow one gay group to march this year as a prime factor in Guinness’s decision. In September, the parade organizers announced that Out@NBC-Universal, a group of gay employees at NBC, would be permitted to march under its own banner. “While there is still work to be done, we are pleased that the parade organizers have taken steps to allow the LGBT community to be represented,” Diageo said in a statement. A spokeswoman for Guinness didn't respond to a request for comment beyond the company’s statement. Heineken U.S.A. also withdrew its sponsorship of the parade last year. A spokeswoman didn’t respond Friday to an inquiry; the spokeswoman said two weeks ago that a “decision had not been made” at that time.

When Guinness pulled out last year, Bill Donohue launched a boycott campaign that ultimately went nowhere. Heineken also dropped its sponsorship of the 2014 parade, but its not yet known if they will follow Guinness back to this year's event. A spokesman for Irish Queers has expressed "disappointment" with the decision by Guinness.

REPORT: Mayor Bill De Blasio To Boycott New York City St. Patrick's Day Parade

Via Irish Central:

It appears New York Mayor Bill de Blasio will again boycott this year’s St. Patrick’s Day parade on Fifth Avenue because of the lack of an Irish gay group in the line of march, multiple sources have told the Irish Voice. A non-Irish gay group from NBC, OUT@NBCUniversal, will march. On Tuesday, City Council Member Daniel Dromm of Queens confirmed to the Irish Voice that a majority of council members, including Speaker Melissa Mark Viverito, will not take part in the parade. The council formally boycotted and withdrew its banner from last year’s march in protest, and plans on doing the same for 2015, Dromm confirmed. “I won’t march until an Irish gay group can march,” Dromm told the Irish Voice. “And there will be no council banner in this year’s parade – of course there won’t,” he added. The decision by the parade committee to allow a gay group to march next month for the first time – OUT@NBCUniversal – came about for corporate reasons only, Dromm said. “It’s not acceptable to us,” Dromm added. “We’ve been struggling for 25 years to have an Irish gay group in the march and they still won’t allow us to march.”

Cardinal Timothy Dolan, this year's grand marshal, has expressed support for the inclusion of the one corporate LGBT group, earning him widespread scorn on right wing sites. When De Blasio boycotted last year, Bill Donohue was thrilled.

RELATED: The LGBT-inclusive St. Pat's For All Parade takes place in Queens on March 1st.

Paging Bill Donohue

Via the Associated Press:

For the first time in its history, the sponsors of Boston's St. Patrick's Day parade will allow a group representing the gay community to participate, drawing cheers from Mayor Martin Walsh, who boycotted the event last year over the exclusion.

The South Boston Allied War Veterans Council, which has long resisted the inclusion of gay groups and won a U.S. Supreme Court decision in 1995 upholding their right to ban them from the annual parade that draws hundreds of thousands of spectators, voted 5-4 on Monday night to allow the group OutVets to march in the parade scheduled for March 15.

They will be allowed to carry a blue banner with five white stars representing the branches of the military and six vertical rainbow stripes. The group represents lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender veterans and participated in the city's Veterans Day parade last month.

Ooh, somebody's gonna have a turrrrible case of the sadz.

Cardinal Timothy Dolan: Gays Are OK As Long As They Don't Do Anything Gay

Cardinal Timothy Dolan has been the target of withering criticism from Catholics after saying that he'll stay on as the grand marshal of next year's St. Patrick's Day Parade even though the entire celebration is totally going to be ruined by the inclusion of one LGBT group. Dolan responded to his naysayers this week in a lengthy letter published to the website of the Archdiocese of New York. An excerpt:

I haven’t been in this much hot water since I made the comment, right after I arrived as your archbishop five-and-a-half years ago, that Stan Musial—my boyhood hero of my hometown St. Louis Cardinals—was a much better ballplayer than Joe DiMaggio! Now I’m getting as much fiery mail and public criticism over my decision to accept the honor of Grand Marshal of this year’s St. Patrick’s Day Parade. According to the critics, I should have refused, due to the Parade Committee’s decision to allow a group of self-identified Gays of Irish ancestry to march in the parade with their own banner. As with Stan Musial, I’ll stand by my decision.

However, enough of you have courteously expressed some confusion and dismay, that, as your pastor, I owe you an explanation. Let me try. For one, the decision to change the parade protocol was not mine. The archbishops of New York have never been “in charge” of the parade. Although my predecessors and I have always enjoyed friendly cooperation with the Parade Committee—and still do—and deeply appreciate the identity of the Parade as a celebration purely of Irish heritage, intimately linked to the Catholic Faith, we’ve never had a say in Parade policy or the choice of the Grand Marshal. Nor did we expect or want one! [snip]

While a handful have been less than charitable in their reactions, I must admit that many of you have rather thoughtful reasons for criticizing the committee’s decision: you observe that the former policy was fair; you worry that this is but another example of a capitulation to an “aggressive Gay agenda,” which still will not appease their demands; and you wonder if this could make people think the Church no longer has a clear teaching on the nature of human sexuality. Thank you for letting me know of such concerns. I share some of them.

However, the most important question I had to ask myself was this: does the new policy violate Catholic faith or morals? If it does, then the Committee has compromised the integrity of the Parade, and I must object and refuse to participate or support it. From my review, it does not. Catholic teaching is clear: “being Gay” is not a sin, nor contrary to God’s revealed morals. Homosexual actions are—as are any sexual relations outside of the lifelong, faithful, loving, lifegiving bond of a man and woman in marriage—a moral teaching grounded in the Bible, reflected in nature, and faithfully taught by the Church.

At least he didn't put gay into scare quotes. Hey, he even capitalized the word. He respects us! As long as we all vow to live an entire lifetime of untouched, unloved, miserable, tortured solitude. It's what Jesus would want. Praise! Glory!

Catholic League: We're Still Boycotting Those Anti-God Bullies At Guinness Beer

"We are now half-way to St. Patrick’s Day, and many will be tipping a few in anticipation of the March 17, 2015 parades and celebrations. For several reasons, the Guinness boycott must continue. First, we should remember that this corporate bully tried to shove its secular agenda down our throats by punishing the New York City St. Patrick’s Day Parade for not allowing gays to march under their own banners in 2014; it pulled its sponsorship. Its goal, which is supported by its friends at Irish Central, is to sever the religious moorings of the parade. Second, it announced its boycott on the eve of the parade, swindling pub owners to stock up on its stout before pulling the trigger. Third, even though a gay group will be marching in the 2015 New York parade, Guinness is not promising to renew its sponsorship: it wants more homosexual units to march before getting on board again. If it were to succeed, it would turn the parade into a diversity free-for-all, thus eviscerating its Catholic heritage. Guinness has no monopoly on St. Patrick’s Day anyway. It’s time we sent them a message and told them to get lost." - Bill Donohue, writing for the Catholic League.

NEW YORK CITY: HRC Applies To March In 2015 St. Patrick's Day Parade

Via the Human Rights Campaign:

The Human Rights Campaign (HRC), the nation’s largest lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) civil rights organization, today applied to have an Irish-American contingent from the organization included as an official participant in next year's St. Patrick's Day Parade in New York City. Parade organizers recently announced that in 2015, for the first time in the event's long history, an LGBT group—which represents staff at NBC Universal, the television network broadcasting the parade--would be allowed to march under its own banner.

“We are encouraged to learn that a group of LGBT people will be able to march in next year's St. Patrick's Day parade under a banner identifying them as LGBT,” the letter reads. “We see this as an important and long-overdue first step toward full inclusion for LGBT people in one of the city's oldest and most storied traditions.” At the time of the announcement, parade officials said that OUT@NBCUniversal was the only LGBT group that applied to march next year. HRC urges the parade organizers to consider its application as well as those of other LGBT groups, including Irish Queers, which has long fought to be included in the iconic event.

Read the full letter here.

Bill Donoue: I've Been Betrayed And Will Boycott The St. Patrick's Day Parade

Catholic League blowhard Bill Donohue today announced that he has been betrayed by the New York City St. Patrick's Day Parade committee and will boycott next year's event. According to Donohue, he had been promised that an anti-abortion group would be allowed to march in the parade in return for allowing one gay group to participate.

To be specific, I asked them to pledge that a pro-life Catholic group would also be permitted. I was told that a formal change in the rules had been approved and that a pro-life group would march. Now I am being told that the list of marching units is set and that no pro-life group will march in next year’s parade. Accordingly, I have decided to withdraw our participation. Why should this matter? For the past two decades I have been the parade’s most vocal defender of its rules. Repeatedly, I have said that gays have no more been banned from marching than pro-life Catholics have: members of both groups can march with other units; they simply can’t march under their own banner. Why? Because the parade is not about gays or abortion, or anything other than St. Patrick. Attempts will now be made to pit me against Timothy Cardinal Dolan, the Grand Marshal of the 2015 parade. The suggestion that I am at odds with the New York Archbishop is not only false, it is despicable. Cardinal Dolan has no more rabid supporter than Bill Donohue, and nothing that has transpired recently changes anything. My reasons for withdrawing from the parade have nothing to do with Cardinal Dolan or with gays. It has to do with being betrayed by the parade committee. They not only told me one thing, and did another, they decided to include a gay group that is neither Catholic nor Irish while stiffing pro-life Catholics. This is as stunning as it is indefensible.

RELATED: On Tuesday three LGBT Irish groups held a press conference in midtown where they mailed their applications to also march in next year's parade.

FRC Slams Cardinal Timothy Dolan Over St. Patrick's Day Parade Rule Change

"New York’s Cardinal Dolan, appointed as Grand Marshal of the 2015 St. Patrick’s Day Parade, praised the decision to allow an openly gay group to march in the St. Patrick’s Day Parade. 'I have no trouble with the decision at all. I think the decision is a wise one,' he said. Perhaps organizations which advocate to legalize prostitution and pornography should also be permitted to march? What about promoters of euthanasia for the elderly and disabled or those who champion physician assisted suicide? Where does Cardinal Dolan draw the line? As society continues to disregard what America’s Founders wrote about the laws of Nature and Nature’s God, the moral fabric of our nation is disintegrating to the point of becoming thread bare, unable to hold together even the most basic values upon which our nation was founded. For a Church authority to embrace political correctness at such a time will have consequences which extend far beyond the parade route." - Crackpot Virginia state Del. Bob Marshall, writing for the Family Research Council.

PREVIOUSLY ON JMG: In February 2014, Marshall filed an amendment that would grant Virginia state legislators the right to claiming standing in marriage lawsuits. In September 2013, Marshall petitioned the US Supreme Court to overturn Virginia's legalization of sodomy. In May 2012, Marshall attempted to block the appointment of an openly gay state judge because the nominee has "an illegal husband." In 2011, Marshall claimed it is a felony for a state office to fly the rainbow flag. Marshall has also called on Virginia to issue its own currency, and has claimed that God punishes women who have abortions by giving them deformed children. After the DADT repeal bill passed, Marshall tried to have gays banned from the Virginia National Guard.

Matt Barber: Christians Should Carry Anti-Gay Banners At St. Patrick's Parade

"What was once billed as a Catholic event can no longer be called such. They are openly allowing a sin-based organization to march in their parade and to effectively put their stamp of approval on what the Bible unequivocally calls sinful behavior.  Some faith-based organizations could carry banners and so forth exclaiming the truths of scripture relative to homosexual sin. [They could] use the opportunity to denounce what the New York City St. Patrick's Parade organization has done here and to take them to task for casting aside the truths of scripture and disobeying the teachings of Christ." - Hate group leader Matt Barber, speaking to the AFA's OneNewsNow.

Bill Donohue Hopes Gay People Keep Their Pants On During St. Patrick's Parade

Catholic League blowhard Bill Donohue appeared on Michelangelo Signorile's show yesterday where he repeatedly claimed that gay people might try to go naked in next year's St. Patrick's Day Parade. 

"Here’s the hitch,” Donohue said, about allowing gays to march. “They do have dress requirements and other kinds of strictures. The question is, ‘Will the gays behave?’ Gays have been known to take their clothes off in the parade. They can’t keep their pants on sometimes when they march in the gay pride parade.”  When told that in fact the St. Patrick's Day Parade gets quite unruly, with reports of drunkenness, violence and police run-ins each year, with heterosexual people certainly not “behaving,” Donohue insisted that they still “keep our pants on,” though he acknowledged he's never been to Mardi Gras in New Orleans where many heterosexuals certainly engage in sexual expression, sometimes unclothed. “We keep our pants on,” he said. “You guys have masturbated on the street. I have pictures of what went on in the Stonewall 1994 gay pride parade that you couldn’t put on CNN or publish in The New York Times. Men and women went naked in the street in front of St. Patrick's Cathedral. I think it is a ‘wow’ when men can’t keep their pants on when they march.”

You'll recall that Donohue dared NYC Pride to allow the Catholic League to march this year.  When NYC Pride welcomed his participation, Donohue then weaseled out, claiming that the pre-parade safety seminar constituted "forced gay training." That safety briefing constitutes a short slideshow presentation required of all NYC parades and instructs a representative from each group on how to summon medical aid, how to obey NYPD traffic instructions, etc. Maybe the one gay group being allowed to march in the 2015 St. Patrick's Day Parade should object to the "forced Catholic training" required before participating.

DC Archdiocese: Cancel The St. Patrick's Day Parade "Anal Sex" Celebration

"We are being asked to raise toasts and to enjoy a night of frivolity with those who think it is acceptable to abort children by the millions each year, with those who think anal sex is to be celebrated as an expression of love and that LGBTQIA (I=intersexual, A= Asexual) is actually a form of sanity to which we should tip our hat, and with those who stand four-square against us over religious liberty. Now the St. Patrick’s Parade is becoming of parade of disorder, chaos, and fake unity. Let’s be honest: St. Patrick’s Day nationally has become a disgraceful display of drunkenness and foolishness in the middle of Lent that more often embarrasses the memory of Patrick than honors it.

"In New York City in particular, the 'parade' is devolving into a farcical and hateful ridicule of the faith that St. Patrick preached. It’s time to cancel the St. Patrick’s Day Parade and the Al Smith Dinner and all the other 'Catholic' traditions that have been hijacked by the world. Better for Catholics to enter their churches and get down on their knees on St. Patrick’s Day to pray in reparation for the foolishness, and to pray for this confused world to return to its senses. Let’s do adoration and pray the rosary and the Divine Mercy Chaplet unceasingly for this poor old world." - Father Charles Pope, writing for the Archdiocese of Washington.