Planned Parenthood to kickoff NYC Pride march

NEW YORK (WABC) — Planned Parenthood will be the first featured marching contingent at Sunday’s NYC Pride March, organizers have announced.

The decision comes following the Supreme Court ruling overturning Roe v Wade, which cast a shadow on the celebrations, with so many wondering what the decision means for their rights.

“This dangerous decision puts millions in harm’s way, gives government control over our individual freedom to choose, and sets a disturbing precedent that puts many other constitutional rights and freedoms in jeopardy,” NYC Pride wrote in a statement. “As millions gather for LGBTQIA+ Pride this weekend in New York City and cities across the country, our voices will be heard – for the LGBTQ people impacted and the millions with whom we stand in solidarity.”

In his concurrence, Justice Clarence Thomas wrote, “In future cases, we should reconsider all of this Court’s substantive due process precedents, including Griswold, Lawrence, and Obergefell.”

Lawrence v. Texas decriminalized intimate same-sex relationships and Obergefell v. Hodges made marriage equality the law of the land.

Protest has always been an element of New York City’s Pride Parade, which roughly coincides with the anniversary of the beginning of the June 28, 1969, Stonewall uprising – days of angry demonstrations sparked by a police raid on a gay bar in Manhattan.

Marchers in the 1980s protested a lack of government attention to the AIDS epidemic.

In recent years, though, they’ve often been celebrations of major victories for LGBTQ communities to celebrate, like in 2015 when the Supreme Court issued the Obergefell v. Hodges decision recognizing same-sex marriage.

That’s not this year, though.

“This year, we have seen an onslaught of aggressively hostile anti-LGBTQ+ bills in many state legislatures, and more of them have passed than last year,” said Jennifer Pizer, law and policy director for Lambda Legal.

It brings home a reality that in addition to celebration, there’s still a need for activism, said Joe Negrelli, 70, a longtime NYC Pride attendee, who was worried about marriage equality.

“Could it be overturned? Yes, I do believe that. It is a conceivability,” he said of the court’s decision legalizing same-sex marriage nationwide. It “makes me want to put more energy into engaging in marching.”

The NYC Pride March broadcast special, co-hosted by Angelica Ross along with WABC’s Ken Rosato, Lauren Glassberg and Sam Champion, will return for its sixth consecutive year on ABC 7 from 12:00 pm to 3:00 pm ET on Sunday, June 26 as well on abc7NY.com, ABC News Live, and ABC7 New York’s Connected TV Apps on streaming platforms Amazon Fire TV, Android TV, Apple TV, and Roku.

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