Gay pride parade draws thousands in West Hollywood
The recent California Supreme Court ruling on same-sex marriage lends added significance to the event.
Thousands of revelers, from the spectacularly garbed to the sedate, converged on West Hollywood today for the city's annual gay pride parade, a celebration given added meaning since the state's Supreme Court ruling struck down a ban on same-sex marriage last month
Seth Hutton and his fiance, Alvin Black, reflected on last month's landmark decision as high school students waved flags while loudspeakers from a nearby float boomed out Three Dog Night's "Joy to the World."
"It's really overwhelming," said Black, 20. "It's fun to come here and see the high energy."
The couple said they had flown from Portland, Ore. to attend the parade for the first time, drawn by the historic events that paved the way for same-sex marriage ceremonies to begin in California on June 17.
"For us, it's like peering into the future -- coming down here and see what the rest of the country is going to look like," said Hutton, 31.
Organizers of the event said they expected at least 350,000 people to attend the three-day celebration, which began Friday evening. Olivia Newton-John is scheduled to perform around 7:30 p.m. today.
The 38th almost-annual parade -- one year was skipped -- honors the gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender communities.
On the 1.3-mile parade route along Santa Monica Boulevard, dancers in skimpy briefs strutted on the top of flat-beds and a fire truck. Convertibles carried waving elected officials and men in drag, including Allan Penales, an actor from the just-opened musical "La Cage aux Folles." He wore a tight-fitting white dress with a 2-foot high sequined headdress.
Among those honored at this year's festivities are two plaintiffs in the lawsuit that led to last month's Supreme Court ruling. Rodney Scott, president of Christopher Street West L.A. Pride, which organized the event, said the decision to honor them had been made before the ruling.
"This is an incredible opportunity for our community to celebrate," Scott said.
He said that he and other activists are mindful of a November ballot initiative that would amend the state Constitution to limit marriage to unions between a man and a woman.
At one point on the route, which ran from Crescent Heights to Robertson, fewer than a dozen protesters stood with bullhorns and signs that read, "God Abhors You" and "Smile: Satan Loves You." But their presence did little to dampen spirits at the event, as some parade-goers snapped photos of them -- or walked past laughing.
jack.leonard@latimes.com
