By Ahmed Mori
Originally published in the White Plains Patch
On the last Sunday of June every year, David Juhren marches in the Pride parade in New York City. For Juhren, the lively executive director of the White Plains LGBT community center The LOFT, New York City’s Gay Pride events this weekend are ripe with opportunities for activism as thousands commemorate the anniversary of the Stonewall Riots of 1969.
This year, however, Juhren is attending a different kind of event. “I used to correct my friends, saying [Pride] will only be a parade when we gain our rights, and today we did just that,” he said.
Juhren’s jovial spirit was contagious among the dozens gathered on the steps of City Hall on Saturday afternoon with rainbow flags, signs and Human Rights Campaign stickers to celebrate the passage of New York’s same-sex marriage bill, which the state senate approved by a narrow margin of 33 to 29 Friday night. The group sang along to “Love and Marriage,” “White Wedding,” and “Chapel of Love” as Main street commuters honked in approval.
In the end, the mantra they shouted said it all: “What did we want? Equality! When did we get it? Yesterday!”
Organized by The LOFT, the organization’s website ensured the rally would transpire as long as the senate made a decision Friday night, only its purpose would be contingent on the vote’s results.
“And we don’t have a police permit,” said Juhren. “If they kick us out, we’ll just march down Main Street.”
Ahmed Mori 