"The law was not intended to victimise gay people, it was for the common good." "We are unsatisfied with the court ruling," he said. Ugandan deputy attorney-general Fred Ruhinda said that government lawyers had lodged an appeal against the ruling at the supreme court, the country's highest court. Get over it," read one sticker a man had pasted onto his face. However, it is no longer illegal to promote homosexuality and Ugandans are no longer obliged to denounce gays to the authorities.Īmid music, dancing and laughter, activists gathered in a park on the shores of Lake Victoria, close to the country's presidential palace. Homosexuality remains illegal in Uganda, punishable by a jail sentence. The government swiftly filed an appeal, while MPs have signed a petition for a new vote on the bill. The constitutional court rejected the law on a technicality on 1 August, six months after it took effect. The overturned law, condemned as "abominable" by rights groups but popular among many Ugandans, called for proven homosexuals to be jailed for life. "It is a happy day for all of us, getting together."
Everyone was in hiding before because of the anti-homosexuality law," she said. Calgary Pride is now managing one of the fastest growing Pride Parades in Canada."This event is to bring us together. These changes proved successful, and the parade has enjoyed exceptional growth every year since.
It also transitioned that year from a grassroots collective to an incorporated non-profit society. “We might have a big crowd preaching against those fags up there Sunday,” Reverend Fred Phelps said from Topeka, Kansas but then failed to show up.Ĭalgary Pride moved the parade from June to the September long weekend in 2009, in hopes for better weather and more tourists. In 2001, former Conservative Prime Minister, Joe Clark, agreed to be Calgary’s Pride Parade Marshall soliciting scorn from social conservatives everywhere, including the Westboro Baptist Church. One year it snowed on the June parade, making the almost naked go-go boys dance with a frenzy to keep warm. Over the next decade, participation in the parade grew incrementally, despite random protesters and lousy weather. The parade became an annual feature in Calgary, although the route frequently changed, sometimes on 17 th Avenue, occasionally downtown, ending in a party at Connaught School or Olympic Plaza respectfully. Nancy Miller remembered, “It had been overcast that day and when Svend got up to the mic to speak the clouds parted, and a beam of light hit him as he spoke – it was amazing.” “We are here to remind political leaders it is wrong in Alberta that it’s still legal to fire us from jobs, throw us from homes, and deny us goods and services because of who we love,” he exclaimed. He told the gathered assembly that the greatest barrier facing gays is their invisibility and silence. Alderman John Schmal said the problem with Duerr’s proclamation was made on behalf of the citizens of Calgary and city council, adding, “I don’t support any of that stuff why don’t we just declare a heterosexual week?” Alderman Ray Clark concurred: “If you want to put our names on this proclamation, you’d better ask our permission.” Aldermen Ray Clark and Carol Kraychy took particular offense at the choice of Father’s Day to commence the week.Ībout 400 people marched down Stephen Avenue ending up at City Hall to listen to a speech by B.C. Some Aldermen objected strenuously as well. The Mayor’s office fielded hundreds of angry calls condemning the decision. The city was in a polarized uproar because Mayor Al Duerr had gone out on a political limb and signed a proclamation declaring June 16-23, 1991 as the first “Gay Rights Week.” The first Calgary Pride Parade occurred on June 16, 1991, which also happened to be Father’s Day. The most successful events happened on the weekend a sold-out Friday night Rocky Mountain Singers concert, “Something to Sing About ,” at Knox United Church Hall, a Saturday invitational Slow-Pitch tournament, with carnival games on the side, and then a Pride Dance, with 500 strong, at Victoria Park Hall. The rest of the week, had events every day, including a four-night film festival curated by the Plaza Theatre, which programmed repertory cinema at the time. The Rocky Mountain Singers, Calgary’s gay choir, performed, and post-rally, the assembled retired to a local bar.
CLAGPAG spoke powerfully to an excited crowd of about 150 people. They then walked over as a group to Central Memorial Park, at the Boer War Memorial, where the media were waiting for them. On Monday, June 18, 1990, participants gathered at the Old Y Centre, to pick up masks and congregate.