Gay Pride on Parade in Huntington

Parade-goers and marchers celebrating gay pride came to Huntington Saturday, cheering and dancing along Main Street.

At Prime Avenue, they turned into Heckscher Park where vendors, including food trucks, and musicians awaited them for an afternoon festival. Those watching cheered loudly, including bike-riding Suffolk County police officers.

Before the parade stepped off, U.S. Rep. Steve Israel, D-Huntington, announced that he planned to file a bill that  would clear the dishonorable discharges forced on many military veterans in years past.  "This is a historic injustice against gay military veterans," the Democrat said.

Skies cleared for the parade and festival, with only a few sprinkles coming down, a relief to parade organizers after Friday night's deluge. 

Organizer David Kilmnick estimated a turnout of 15,000 people for the two events, with singer Debbie Gibson the highlight of a well-received lineup of singers the park festival.

"It's unbelievable," Kilmnick said. "This is the largest parade outside New York City. We live here. It's good to share this with the entire community."

Asked why a declaration of pride was important to the gay community, Rae Gagliardo of Medford said, "It makes us visible. I'm from the day when we were hiding in closets."

Two young Pride volunteers from Bay Shore agreed.

"It's a judge-free zone" at the parade, said Katelyn McCarthy. "It allows people to be themselves."

And  Yvette Santiago said, "It helps individuals express themselves, where they feel welcome."

Corporate sponsors, such as Bethpage Credit Union, Microsoft, TD Bank, North Shore-LIJ medical system and others supported the parade and were among the vendors at the park.

Peter Carney of the Pride for Youth Long Island Crisis Center in Bellmore said that while some conditions had improved for young gays, "They're not where they need to be. People are being bullied, kicked out of their homes, rejected for who they are."

Politicians, from town supervisor Frank Petrone, Councilwoman Susan Berland and Suffolk County Legis. William "Doc" Spencer, and members of the Libertarian Party, joined in the parade.

Representatives of the Holocaust Memorial and Tolerance Center in Glen Cove were on hand and noted that while intolerance could take many forms, it thrives  when others don't speak up.

"We have to fight intolerance," said Andrea Bolender, secretary and treasure of the museum's board. Anti-gay bigotry is "the last bastion of intolerance." Jews, she said, weren't necessarily the first target of the Nazis. World War II "didn't start with genocide but it ended with it."