There will be no police presence at New York City’s Pride parade this year, thanks to a ban by event organizers barring police from marching in uniform. And for “The View” host Meghan McCain, it’s not sitting right.
This year’s parade will mark the first since roughly 1981 that police won’t be marching, as part of a new ban that will remain in place until 2025. The decision came as part of an effort by Heritage of Pride, Inc., the nonprofit organization that hosts most of the city’s major Pride events, to acknowledge the legacy of brutality and abuse against the LGBTQ community by police, that they say still continues today.
But according to Meghan McCain, not allowing officers to march in uniform in the parade is a “ridiculous” and “counterproductive” act of exclusion itself. And one that goes against the core of Pride events, to boot.
“The idea that if you’re an LGBTQ+ police officer – the subtext of this is that you should feel shame to be a police officer while going to an event that is celebrating pride,” McCain argued. “That, to me, is a complete dissociation from things. You can’t ask someone to choose between these two things.”
On top of that, McCain contended that setting the precedent of not allowing police to participate in Pride while wearing their uniforms only opens the door to exclude more people down the line.
“And if we’re going down this slippery slope, what’s next?” McCain posed. “Are we not gonna allow people in the military to wear their uniform at Pride events?”
The host noted that most friends that she herself has in law enforcement want to be part of necessary changes, and want to see reform happen, and added that everyone should be welcome at Pride.
“Movements have to take allies where they can find them,” McCain noted.