Cities celebrate with pride amid gay rights battles

The annual events commemorate the Stonewall uprising of 1969, widely considered the beginning of the gay rights movement.
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) -- Undeterred by recent setbacks in the push to legalize same-sex marriage, tens of thousands of festively dressed people marched in parades around the country Sunday to celebrate the 35th anniversary of gay pride.
People celebrated in San Francisco, New York, Chicago, Seattle, Atlanta and other cities, though the event comes during a tough period for gay rights advocates. A bill to legalize same-sex marriage died this year in the California Assembly, and many states have passed or are pursuing constitutional amendments outlawing gay marriage.
"I'm here to let the rest of the world know that we're here and we want to be seen," said Clarence Smelcer, 43, an AIDS activist watching the San Francisco parade. "We're part of everyone's lives and the parade is a wonderful way to show it."
Gay pride is a virtual holiday in San Francisco and thousands gathered early for the parade, including men in kilts sporting rainbow-colored wigs, cross-dressers in kimonos and heterosexual couples waving rainbow flags.
The parade opened with a blocks-long contingent of "Dykes on Bikes" -- lesbians dressed in leather driving loud motorcycles. Participants also included a bearded man in a wedding gown singing Madonna's "Like a Virgin," a gay and lesbian marching band, and a group of parents and friends of lesbians and gays (PFLAG).
Event's history
The annual pride parades commemorate the Stonewall uprising of 1969, a series of fights between gays and police in New York widely considered the beginning of the gay rights movement. The parades began the next year in 1970.
There were also subtle reminders in the celebrations Sunday of the struggles ahead. Many in the San Francisco crowd wore stickers that read, "We All Deserve the Freedom to Marry."
"Anytime you have a big group of people screaming and hollering people will pay attention," said Jorge Vieto Jr., 27, who left Costa Rica because of discrimination against gays. "Marriage should be an equal opportunity, not a heterosexual, right."
Ming Chan, 33, and Steve Ribisi, 34, watched the parade with their 18-month-old son, Joshua. Though they said some would view their relationship as a threat to the sanctity of marriage, they just wanted the chance to raise their son together.
"People should see us and know we're going through the same problems as other parents," Chan said.
Copyright 2005 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.