LGBTQ+ officers affiliated with the Gay Officers Action League will once again abstain from marching in the city's Pride March.
The Gay Officers Action League announced last week that it will not participate in the march because of the event's no-weapons policy for marchers.
It is the fifth consecutive year that GOAL said it has been in disputes with Heritage of Pride, which organizes the march, over whether officers can march while carrying firearms. Last year, then-Mayor Eric Adams and Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch criticized the policy, while organizers said police officers were free to march as long as they did not bring their weapons.
The NYPD did not immediately respond when asked for additional comment.
Heritage of Pride said its members voted "by a sizable margin" not to grant GOAL an exception to the policy this year.
“We acknowledge that GOAL marchers and other LGBTQIA+ officers have a desire to march openly and celebrate their dual identities, but our membership has spoken clearly multiple times now: They must find a way to do so without their weapons,” the organization said in a statement.
In years past, armed officers have patrolled the march for security reasons. Heritage of Pride said it would again work with the NYPD and other government agencies on safety protocols.
But the policy "feels less like 'come march with us' and more like 'come march with someone else,'" according to Jason Samuel, GOAL's vice president.
“We spent years engaging in good faith dialogue because we believe inclusion meant inclusion,” Samuel said in a statement. “Previous generations of LGBTQ+ officers fought to be able to stand openly and visibly in uniform. We are now being told that visibility itself is the problem.”
GOAL said its members will instead march in Queens Pride, which takes place in Jackson Heights on Sunday.
The mayor's office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
