As the LGBT community in New York City marched on Sunday as part of the Pride Parade, they had an unexpected guest: Democrat Party presumptive nominee Hillary Clinton, who joined the celebration of NYC Pride.
Clinton, who has gained the endorsement of major LGBT groups like LPAC and HRC, has also come up with a program to help the LGBT people if she’s elected come November.
However, her rival– Republican Party presumptive nominee Donald Trump– has said he is the ‘true champion of gay rights’ by promising to protect them from hate crimes.
A surprise visit at the NYC Pride
Reportedly an unannounced visit, Clinton took part in the march around 1:45 pm last Sunday even as New York’s annual gay pride parade moved through the final four blocks.
She was joined by New York Governor Andrew Cuomo and New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio. Also present was the Reverend Al Sharpton.
The former State Secretary had first marched in New York’s gay pride parade in 2000, when she first campaigned for a New York Senate seat. She did it again six years later, when she ran for re-election.
In conjunction with the Pride weekend celebration, Clinton displayed her campaign logo on Twitter and Facebook in the colors of the rainbow flag.
Prior to her joining the parade, she had also tweeted: “One year ago, love triumphed in our highest court. Yet LGBT Americans still face too many barriers. Let’s keep marching until they don’t.”
Commemorating at the NYC Pride
Celebrating Pride Month, this year’s NYC Pride march was a bittersweet commemoration.
On one hand, those who marched at the parade bore the photos of the 49 people who died at the recent Orlando nightclub shooting in Florida. Others carried signs like “We are Orlando” and “One Pulse.”
On the other hand, the march was held on the first anniversary of the Supreme Court’s ruling in favor of same-sex marriage in United States v. Windsor and Obergefell v. Hodges.
Edie Windsor, the lead plaintiff in one of the cases, has already endorsed Clinton for president.
Windsor said: “Hillary is the president who will fight to get us there. Because she knows what I know: Love trumps hate, the United States Constitution endures and justice will ultimately prevail.”
Security at the event was already tight with officials not only expecting the largest crowd in its history but also in the wake of the Orlando shooting.