Boston’s Gay Pride Parade Has Democrats Courting Their Vote

You couldn’t have paid me to go into Boston this past Saturday. There many times I don’t like going into Boston. When the Red Sox have home games, riding the T is a nightmare. But, this past Saturday, it wasn’t the Red Sox keeping me out of Boston, it was the “Gay Pride” parade.

I have a major problem with these gay pride events… the gay community argue all the time that what two people do behind closed doors is not the business of anyone else, yet, they put on these events to broadcast their sexual orientation to anyone and everyone in the area, and those of us who try to avoid it get barraged with stories about it in the news. It is interesting that the same people who support these events, gay or straight, are the same people who cry foul over wiretapping terrorists and raise a stink over privacy issues, and yet they hold these parades which completely clash with the concept of privacy.

Meanwhile, as the gay community flagrantly puts their sexual orientation on a pedestal on the streets of Boston, the Democratic gubernatorial candidates are trying to court their vote.

Patrick wowed many in the gay community last year with his outspoken support of gay marriage, drawing many gay voters to support him over the only other Democrat in the race at the time, Attorney General Thomas F. Reilly.

But Gabrieli complicated the picture when he joined the race in April. As the Democratic nominee for lieutenant governor in 2002, Gabrieli was one of the first statewide candidates to support same-sex marriage. Now, he says he is making a concerted effort to attract gay supporters.

Most gay activists say that Gabrieli has his work cut out for him. Bay Windows, the largest gay and lesbian newspaper in New England, recently wrote that Patrick “has so many gays behind him he could hold his own pride parade.” But the newspaper’s editor, Susan Ryan-Vollmar, said this week that Gabrieli still has a chance to make inroads.

“I don’t think Deval has it by any means locked up,” Ryan-Vollmar said. “I think Deval has key people locked up. But when you look at the two candidates, both are terrific for people voting solely on gay issues. . . . And I don’t know that many people who vote solely on gay issues.”

Patrick plans to march in the parade today with a large contingent of supporters. Gabrieli’s campaign said he plans to greet marchers before and after the parade with about 30 supporters, but will not be able to march in the parade because of other commitments. Reilly may stop by, his campaign said yesterday. He did not attend last year, saying he had to attend his grandchild’s christening.

Reilly, after initially opposing same-sex marriage, declared his support for it last year. But many in the gay community are furious with Reilly for using a 1913 state law to block out-of-state gay couples from marrying in Massachusetts and for certifying a 2008 ballot question that would ban gay matrimony. Reilly has said that he was upholding his responsibilities under the law.

Matt Margolis is co-author (with Mark Noonan) of Caucus of Corruption: The Truth About The New Democratic Majority. He also blogs at The Buffalo Bean. Follow Matt on Twitter.