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Gay rights activists seek inclusion in NYC St. Patrick’s Parade
NEW YORK — Gay activists who have been pushing to join New York City’s St. Patrick’s Day Parade since the 1990s called on organizers Tuesday to include them, not just a group for gay NBC employees. Members of a group called Irish Queers held a news conference to announce that they were applying for a spot in the 2015 event, the nation’s biggest and oldest …
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New York City reports three cases of meningitis in HIV-positive gay men
NEW YORK — New York City’s Health Department says it’s investigating three cases of meningitis that have developed in HIV-positive gay men over the last two weeks. The department says Friday it’s recommending meningitis vaccinations for all men who regularly have intimate contact with other men. It says men with HIV are at a greater risk of acquiring meningitis.
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Staten Island St. Pats parade organizers to weigh gay group participation
NEW YORK — Organizers of the St. Patrick’s Day parade on Staten Island have yet to decide whether gay groups will be allowed to march under their own banners. The president of the local Hibernians, Marty Crimmins, tells the Staten Island Advance that the issue will likely be discussed at a meeting in October or November.
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N.Y. Catholic Cardinal to lead St. Patrick’s Day parade with 1st gay group
NEW YORK — There is no more natural spot for Roman Catholic Cardinal Timothy Dolan — a proud, ebullient Irish-American — than grand marshal of the city’s historic St. Patrick’s Day Parade. But the honor now has an added significance: Parade organizers said Wednesday they will allow the first gay group to march under its own banner. Dolan was quick to issue a statement…
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Gay rights groups scoff at NYC St. Patrick’s Day Parade decision
NEW YORK — A decision by organizers of the city’s St. Patrick’s Day Parade to allow one gay organization to march is a disappointment after decades of fighting by gay groups for full participation, several advocates said Wednesday. Some were dismayed that the organizers had chosen just one lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender group to participate next year after ending a ban …
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NYC mayor Bill de Blasio praises St. Patrick’s Day Parade decision
NEW YORK — Mayor Bill de Blasio has praised the decision to allow a gay contingent to march under its own banner for the first time at New York City’s St. Patrick’s Day Parade. But he has not made a commitment to marching in the parade himself. De Blasio said Wednesday that he’ll need to know more before deciding what he’ll be doing six months from now.
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First ever gay group to march openly in NYC St. Patrick’s Day Parade
NEW YORK — A gay group will march under its own banner for the first time in the world’s largest St. Patrick’s Day Parade, organizers said Wednesday. The prohibition on identified gay groups in the centuries-old New York parade had made participation a political issue. Democratic Mayor Bill de Blasio refused to march this year, and Guinness beer dropped its sponsorship.
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N.Y. farm will no longer host weddings rather than allow same-sex ceremonies
SCHAGHTICOKE, N.Y. — The owners of an upstate New York farm who were ordered to pay $13,000 in fines and restitution for refusing to host a lesbian couple’s wedding say they will discontinue hosting all weddings rather than accommodate same-sex wedding ceremonies. Cynthia and Robert Gifford, owners of the Liberty Ridge Farm in Schaghticoke, N.Y., “have decided…
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Cuomo calls on N.Y. legislature to outlaw gender identity discrimination
ALBANY, N.Y. — New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo is calling on the state to outlaw discrimination against transgender people, saying gender identity and expression should be included in the state’s civil rights law alongside race, religion and disability. In a letter to the Empire State Pride Agenda dated Tuesday, Cuomo said transgender people face significant …
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N.Y. farm fined $13,000 for refusing to host lesbian couple’s wedding
ALBANY, N.Y. — A New York couple has been ordered to pay $13,000 in fines and restitution for refusing to host a same-sex couple’s wedding at their 100-acre upstate farm and event facility. Jennifer and Melisa McCarthy filed the complaint in 2012 against the Liberty Ridge Farm in Schaghticoke, N.Y., after being told their same-sex marriage would cause …