San Diego Pride Parade will be led by military contingent after all

The rd Marine Aircraft Wing Band marches in the San Diego Pride Parade Under current Department of Defense rules the band is not allowed to use cabinet materials which include their instruments at events promoting diversity equity and inclusion like Pride parades and Black History Month celebrations Photo by Drew Sitton Times of San Diego The San Diego Pride Parade will be led by military contingents once again just not the same one as in the past decade San Diego Pride posted on social media that SPARTA Pride a national nonprofit created by and for transgender people serving in the military was partnering with them to organize a military presence for the parade The post recalled Pride beginning as a protest at the Stonewall Inn This year s march is not just a celebration it s a stand for justice visibility and the right to serve and heal with dignity Pride commented The news came after the San Diego Pride s Military Department communicated June that it would withdraw from the parade over a myriad of safety concerns and a lack of assistance and communication from Pride leadership Department chair Lauren Henson a United States Marine in an interview cited surveillance of the marchers to out transgender arrangement members and probable crowd reaction while Marines are deployed domestically in Los Angeles as safety concerns She along with former chair Clay Kilpatrick expressed frustration over a lack of year-round advocacy from the Pride organization for LGBTQ military members and veterans Pride was notably absent from a press conference held by local LGBTQ leaders and organizations opposing the renaming of the USNS Harvey Milk Pride has abdicated its leadership role as an advocacy group the silence is problematic revealed Kilpatrick who chaired the military department for a decade and continues to volunteer in June Beyond just advocacy Kilpatrick decried the lack of administrative promotion and timely communication for the military department from Pride something Henson echoed In the Military Department social media post Henson revealed San Diego Pride s diminished maximum has prevented the department from communicating with its members to register and track its participants With Pride circumventing the department military registration on the Pride website has begun anew Advancing duty veteran retired and military families were invited to come as they are to march whether in uniform rainbow gear or however they feel relaxed In a report Pride noted While various members of the San Diego Pride Military Department will not be participating this year military contingents will be marching in the parade including members of SPARTA All military personnel are welcome to join SPARTA did not respond to a request for comment This year s contingents will look different The Marine Corps Band will not play due to Trump administration policies that target diversity equity and inclusion Department of Defense regulations could impact participants as well San Diego Pride was the first Pride celebration in the nation to have a military contingent march in The participation had become tradition with San Diego being home to one of the largest military communities in the nation Even amid President Donald Trump s discharge of transgender provision members and cuts to VA healthcare that impact LGBTQ veterans the tradition now will continue with the military contingent set to lead the parade at a m July