Marriage Triumph Adds Spark to SF Pride

The crowd was larger than any in recent memory and the mood was exuberant as people celebrated the 45th annual San Francisco Pride parade last weekend.

Marriage was the overarching theme, as the U.S. Supreme Court last Friday issued its decision in Obergefell v. Hodges, which legalized same-sex marriage in all 50 states.

"Epic is the word I'm using," San Francisco LGBT Pride Celebration Committee board President Gary Virginia told the Bay Area Reporter Tuesday. "It was an epic parade and celebration this year."

Virginia attributed the large crowd - estimated by SF Pride officials at 1.5 million over Saturday and Sunday and by San Francisco police at 2 million - to it being Pride's 45th anniversary, powerful honorees, and the same-sex marriage decision. This year's theme, "Equality Without Exception" was on point, he added.
A rider with Dykes on Bikes shows her support for the U.S. Supreme Court's marriage decision in the San Francisco Pride parade. Photo: Jane Philomen Cleland

Virginia said there were a record number of floats and about 232 contingents, although some people and groups combined and marched as a unit. Nevertheless, it was a massive parade, starting on time at 10:30 a.m. and ending at 5:33 p.m., Virginia said.

Virginia marched with the SF Pride float and spent much of Sunday afternoon at the main stage. He said the crowd went wild when Golden State Warriors President and Chief Operating Officer Rick Welts, a gay man, hoisted the NBA championship trophy.
A member of the leather contingent wears his message on his back at SF Pride. Photo: Diana Heideman

"It was shoulder to shoulder in Civic Center Plaza," Virginia said.

Another touching moment occurred when the Reverend Cecil Williams of Glide Memorial Church officiated the wedding of Hydie Downard, 74, and Beate Siedler, 66. The women have been together 33 years.

"The wedding ceremony was extremely touching," Virginia said, adding that the newlyweds threw roses and party favors to the crowd.
Ijpe DeKoe, left, and his husband, Thom Kostura, plaintiffs in Obergefell v. Hodges, rode with the National Center for Lesbian Rights contingent. Photo: Khaled Sayed

Ijpe DeKoe and Thom Kostura, a married couple from Tennessee who were plaintiffs in the Obergefell case, rode in the parade with the National Center for Lesbian Rights, which served as counsel in their case. They were met with loud cheers.

"San Francisco was surreal," Kostura said. "It was amazing to see so many people celebrating, and it was great to be able to celebrate with everyone."

The couple was not at the Supreme Court the day of the decision because of work commitments. But they were emotional once the ruling was issued.

"Suddenly we felt the emotion of not only celebrating our marriage," Kostura said, "but also thinking of each of our married friends in Tennessee, Kentucky, Mississippi, Alabama, and everywhere else their marriages weren't recognized. We were feeling the joy for all couples that could now get married."
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Jim Obergefell, the lead plaintiff in the marriage case, was also in the parade, riding with the Human Rights Campaign contingent.

As for the parade contingents, politics was evident throughout, with groups like #BlackLivesMatter and the Harvey Milk LGBT Democratic Club promoting #MyNameIs, to protest Facebook's policy of only using people's real names.

Tech companies Google, Apple, Salesforce, Facebook, and Airbnb all had large contingents in the parade.

The Transgender Law Center called attention to trans women of color who have been killed in the U.S. this year, and also to the conditions undocumented trans people face in detention facilities.

Politicians, of course, were also well represented. House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-San Francisco) rode in the parade, as did Lieutenant Governor Gavin Newsom and his family, and Mayor Ed Lee.