The day before Catholic League head and anti-gay activist Bill Donohue announced that he wouldn’t participate in the NYC Pride Parade even though organizers accepted his application to lead a “Straight Is Great” parade contingent, Donohue told conservative talk show host Steve Malzberg that the parade organizers are maneuvering to keep him out of the parade because they are afraid his “Straight Is Great” message will catch on and flood the parade: “They know what they’re opening the door to: what if instead of getting 100 people, what if I get 3,000 people? What if we begin to overwhelm their parade and vetoes their message?”
Donohue said that he withdrew from the parade because he didn’t want to attend required training sessions for all group leaders.
“Quite frankly, as a straight guy, I don’t go to gay training sessions,” Donohue said. “I think I’m pretty much an untrainable guy when it comes to this thing.”
For the record, those “gay training sessions” that NYC Pride convenes aren’t quite as exciting as they sound: “We hold March information and safety sessions, referred to as group leader trainings, so our participants are fully aware of rules and procedures come event day. These trainings address line-up times, check-in locations, our moment of silence, dispersal activity, NYPD safety policies, attire and vehicle/sound permits. It is imperative group leaders know this information.”
