ANSWER contingent after 2013 Long Beach Pride Parade
On May 19, the ANSWER Coalition was joined by Women Organized to Resist and Defend (WORD), the Worker Student Alliance (UC Irvine), Party for Socialism and Liberation, Inland Empire Riot Grrrls, and more for a contingent in the Long Beach Pride Parade’s 30th anniversary.
The ANSWER contingent raised the banner of struggling for full equal rights for all. With courts deciding on the bigoted Proposition 8 and the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA), it is a critical moment for people to be in the streets. With messages of “Defeat Prop 8 in the streets” and “Fight Back! LGBT Equality Now,” dozens joined the march, keeping the struggle for equality alive.
Click here for photos of the ANSWER contingent at Long Beach Pride!
The contingent also linked the issue of immigrant rights with LGBT equality, calling for amnesty for immigrants. Placards also demanded the release of LGBT soldier and whistleblower PFC Bradley Manning, recently cut as a San Francisco Pride Grand Marshall in a political attack.
ANSWER also confronted right wing anti-gay bigots who were standing on the edge of the parade at one intersection. The bigots held inflammatory signs and shouted vitriolic hate speech at the participants. ANSWER chanted "Hey hey, ho ho, racist bigots have to go!" Many joined in the confrontation.
As the march continued down the parade route, the contingent grew as dozens of spectators flooded into the group, grabbing placards and joining in the chants.
The LGBT Pride parades in the United States are now largely under corporate control. The first pride march after the Stonewall rebellion was a product of the struggle and took place right here in Los Angeles.
As the courts review Proposition 8, street mobilizations are essential. Please make a donation to ANSWER today to help cover the cost of our participation in the LB Pride Parade and to help us organize more acitons for LGBT equality.
The anti-war, LGBT and immigrant rights movements not only have justice as their common interest, they also share the common enemies of inequality, discrimination and war. ANSWER will continue the struggle for same-sex marriage rights and against war and all forms of injustice.