Pride Parade Celebrates Equality
Kim Canaday, left, proposes Saturday to longtime girlfriend Karen Pollard, both of Gentry, before the start of the NWA Pride Parade in Fayetteville.
Sunday, June 30, 2013
FAYETTEVILLE — Samantha Shelton carried a sign Saturday that read “No Freedom Til’ We’re Equal.”
Shelton and her friend, Ashley Saldana, said they made signs to increase awareness during this year’s seventh annual NWA Pride Parade, which started at the intersection of Church and Meadow streets and ended at the Walton Arts Center.
At A Glance
Federal, State Moves
• The U.S. Supreme Court struck down a portion of federal law that defines marriage as being between a man and a woman but stopped short of declaring state bans on gay marriage are unconstitutional in a pair of decisions handed down Wednesday. The decision means federal benefits, such as Social Security payments, favorable tax treatment and military housing vouchers, cannot be withheld from same-sex couples if those benefits are given to heterosexual couples.
• Arkansans for Equality, a nonprofit group founded in 2012, wants to repeal Amendment 83 to the Arkansas Constitution, which defines marriage as between one man and one woman and prohibits other arrangements from having the legal status of marriage. The group submitted its proposal on Thursday to Attorney General Dustin McDaniel’s office for review.
Source: Staff Report
“We’re showing people that it’s not wrong to be gay,” Saldana said.
James Rector, board president for the Northwest Arkansas Center for Equality, said those who attended this year’s rally had a new reason to celebrate.
The Supreme Court issued a ruling this week giving legally married same-sex couples the same federal benefits as other married Americans.
Arkansans for Equality, a group that supports gay marriage, also came forward this week in hopes of striking down the ban against same-sex marriage in Arkansas.
“This is a small step forward,” Rector said. “It gives us hope for the future of things that will happen here in Arkansas.”
Joshua Edens, of Springdale, said the court’s decision will help pave the way for gay and lesbian rights.
“Arkansas is not the most liberal state,” he said. “I think it’s refreshing that things are starting to change.”
Members of Arkansans’ congressional delegation have said they believe only heterosexual marriages are legitimate. Seventy-five percent of Arkansas voters supported that viewpoint in a 2004 constitutional referendum.
Sen. John Boozman, R-Ark., said earlier this week the inability of same-sex partners to receive benefits under the Defense of Marriage Act didn’t amount to discrimination.
Ken Boyle, president of NWA Pride, said Saturday’s parade is the culmination for Pride Month, first held 40 years ago in 1969 at the Stonewall Inn, a gay bar in Greenwich Village, NY. The bar was raided by police and the bar’s patrons, which included gay, lesbian and transgender customers, fought back.
“They were tired of being harassed and they stood up to police,” said Mark Williams, senior pastor for Spirit of Peace C0mmunity Church.
Williams decorated his car Saturday with balloons and a sign that read, “God Loves Everyone.”
Other people showed their pride by carrying rainbow-colored flags and throwing beads.
One woman wore a veil as the song, “Chapel of Love” sounded in the background.
Will Phillips of West Fork said the Pledge of Allegiance following Saturday’s parade.
“I’m honoring the hard work and the dream of justice for all,” he said.
Phillips made national headlines in 2010 when he refused to stand for the pledge as an act of solidarity with those seeking the right to marry a partner of the same sex.
He said the Supreme Court ruling this week “was a huge step in the right direction.”