(By Kelly McDonald, Jr.) On Friday, the South Boston Allied War Veterans Council reversed their stance on allowing gays to march in the St. Patrick’s Day parade. Previously, the council denied gay vets the opportunity to march because they used a rainbow flag. The original decision by the council to bar gay veterans caused backlash, causing some veteran groups to withdraw from the council

The lead organizer for the parade stated that denying gays to participate in the march was “a wrong that has to be corrected.” The pro-gay veteran group OutVets was first allowed to march in 2015 after a decades-long battle to be included. In 1995 the Supreme Court ruled that the parade organizers were not required to allow gay veterans to participate.


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