Community Corner
Huntington Celebrates 20 Years of Gay Pride
Thousands of supporters of equal civil rights came to show their colors at the annual parade.
Huntington Supervisor Frank Petrone called lesbian, bisexual, gay and transgender residents an asset to the community on Sunday afternoon, as the village held its 20th Annual Pride Parade.
The event, which stepped off at the Gerard Street municipal parking lot just south of the post office, is a joint event by gay rights group Long Island Pride and the town.
"This is a town that welcomes everyone regardless of cultural, ethnic, racial, religious or sexual persuasion. It's a diverse community. And I believe the town is at its best when everyone is allowed to be their best. And I'm delighted to be part of this," Petrone said.
Suffolk Legis. Jon Cooper, a LBGT hero to many, and his husband Rob marched in the parade and were met with cheers and applause along the route.
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But the relationship between Long Island Pride and the Town of Huntington has not always been so friendly. The two entities have been linked since 1991. That year, founding members of the Long Island Lesbian and Gay Pride and Freedom Committee — now known as Long Island Pride Parade Inc. — worked hard to win the right to hold a Long Island Pride event.Â
After applying and being turned down in Northport and Port Jefferson for permits to hold a parade, the committee approached Huntington. Founding members Leah Gustavson, David Kilmnick, Cara Wilson and Steve Henaghan were stunned when the then-Huntington supervisor turned down the committee's request, especially after being told that only 'traditional' parades such as the St. Patrick's Day and Memorial Day parades were allowed on Huntington's streets.
The committee decided not to let that go, enlisting the American Civil Liberties Union to give a lawyer to sue the Town of Huntington for the right to hold the parade. On May 28, 1991 in a U.S. Federal Court, Judge Leonard D. Wexler granted a permit. The 1st Annual Long Island Pride Parade took place on June 9, 1991 in front of 1,000 to 2,000 spectators.
That number is now regularly doubled.
Spectators were treated to marchers from groups such as Parents, Families and Friends of Lesbians and Gays, or P-Flag, who held signs reading things such as, 'We love our children just the way they are." The Long Island Gay and Lesbian Film Festival and the Long Island Community Fellowship also marched.
Perhaps the most lively group was the Long Island Gay and Lesbian Youth, who held up signs identifying their high schools and chanting for equal rights almost the entire route of the parade.
The marchers headed down Main Street passed the grandstand where Miss Long Island Pride waited to greet them before heading to Heckscher Park for a community gathering.
