Mayor to Participate in Lesbian/Gay Pride Parade, AIDS Protest

Organizers of the 13th Annual Lesbian/Gay Pride Parade and Rally today at Balboa Park not only expect a crowd of 12,000-plus but some firsts as well, including the mayor’s participation and a march on City Hall to protest a lack of AIDS funding.

There will be increased security this year, said event organizer Tony Zampella, president of San Diego Lambda Pride Inc. He said that is partly because of an incident at last year’s parade involving a gay San Francisco man who bit two San Diego police officers during a scuffle between marchers and fundamentalist counter-demonstrators.

San Diego Mayor Maureen O’Connor’s participation in the parade, Zampella said, is an important step toward public and political acceptance of the gay community.

“With the AIDS situation, a lot of people want to display either their concern or their anger,” Zampella said. “The mayor’s participation gives legitimacy to our community, just as the participation of five City Council candidates adds to that legitimacy.”

Will Appeal for Funds for AIDS Research

Citing the lack of city and county funding for AIDS research and related projects, a march to City Hall is planned from the post-parade rally at Marston Point in Balboa Park, according to Zampella.

About 1,000 people are expected to participate in the City Hall march, he said, carrying religious symbols and other items symbolizing the number of AIDS-related deaths in San Diego County, he said.

San Diego Police Sgt. Tom DeChandt, field commander for the parade, said he would not disclose how many officers will be assigned to the parade because of security reasons, but said it would be a “sufficient number.”

DeChandt said there would be no extra precautions as a result of last year’s officer-biting incident, but most officers would wear protective gloves, a usual precaution.

“For the past several years gloves have been available to all of our officers,” he said. “It is up to the individual officer whether he chooses to wear them, and I do think most of our officers (at the parade) will make that choice.”

Assigned Area for the Expected Protesters

As in past years, protesters against the parade and its participants are expected, including members of the Santee Bible Missionary Fellowship who have protested in the past, Zampella said. No one at the fellowship could be reached for comment.

“We have reason to believe there are going to be some people there that do not go along with the alternative life style representatives,” Sgt. DeChandt said. “There is an assigned area these protesters have agreed to stay in, and we don’t expect any problems.”

From the corner of Quince Street and Balboa Drive, the parade will proceed west to 5th Avenue, then north on 5th to Robinson, where it will continue east to 6th Avenue. From there participants will go south to the intersection of 6th with Upas Street and Balboa Drive. The last leg of the parade will be on southbound Balboa Drive to the Marston Point area south of Juniper Street, where the post-parade rally will be held.