It's more hospitable, but there's still work to be done, said Mark Bias, co-owner of Ybor City's MC Film Fest and West's partner of more than 30 years. Gay marriage plaintiff Jim Obergefell, center, waves during the Cincinnati Pride parade, Saturday, June 27, 2015, in Cincinnati. In 2015, LGBT festivities returned to the streets of Tampa as the inaugural. Since then, Tampa has passed a domestic partnership registry, the state ban on gay marriage has been overturned and the Hillsborough County Commission has resumed signing proclamations surrounding LGBT events. The informal party evolved to various shows, celebrity appearances, and a parade. "Every year, we'd take our proclamations for the event GaYbor Days to the County Commission to have them signed, and every year we were denied," West said. The ban was spearheaded by then-County Commissioner Ronda Storms and wasn't repealed until after citizens elected Kevin Beckner, Hillsborough County's first openly gay commissioner. "It didn't speak for the majority of the community members." Supreme Court ruled by a 5-to-4 vote that the Constitution guarantees a persons right to same-sex marriage. The global landscape for LGBTQ+ rights, protections and acceptance varies tremendously by location, with some destinations attracting millions of visitors to their events like Madrid Gay Pride, Sao Paulo Gay Pride or San Francisco Gay Pride, while more than 70 other countries have laws that allow discrimination or persecution of LGBTQ+ people. "That was a setback for our entire community, because Tampa and Hillsborough County have always loved and embraced our diversity," said Tampa police Chief Jane Castor, a grand marshal for this year's parade. Saturday in Ybor City.įrom 2005 to 2013, Hillsborough County had enforced a ban on acknowledging, participating or promoting anything to do with gay pride events. 'Today, at the start of the Stonewall Pride Parade a truck struck two pedestrians in the 1700 block of NE 4th Ave,' the department tweeted. As of June 2019, the NYC Pride March in New York City is consistently North Americas biggest pride parade, with 2.1 million attendees in 2015 and 2.5 million.
This year's Tampa Pride Festival and parade is 10 a.m.
Tampa's Pride used to hold the distinction of the state's largest LGBT pride event, and it's aiming to do so again, West said.