Beauty queens of the Gay Asian Pacific Alliance strike poses, blow kisses and wave to the crowd.

by JAMES WOODARD
Hokubei Mainichi

Hundreds of thousands of people poured out on the morning of June 29 to celebrate the 38th annual San Francisco Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender Pride Parade.

It was great weather for a parade as massive crowds filled any available viewing space along Market Street. People stood on top of city garbage cans and even scaled a few sculptures to get a glimpse of the flamboyant procession.

The parade began around 10:30 a.m. with the always popular Dykes on Bikes — a roaring procession of hundreds of motorcycles carrying couples down Market to the screams and applause of the city’s colorful revelers. Many were wearing bridal attire, signifying the recent decision by the California Supreme Court that legalized same sex marriages.

Tens of thousands waved signs urging people to vote no on the controversial ballot measure that would eliminate gay marriage. Conservative activists are pushing the initiative, which would strictly define marriage as the union between a man and a woman ... period.

But even with the looming ballot showdown in November, the only thing that mattered Sunday was the celebration, which included everything from the mayors of Oakland and San Francisco, local supervisors and other politicians, political action groups, the SPCA, firefighters, cops and clowns to the scantily clad and leather-bound of San Francisco’s LGBT communities.

The parade culminated at Civic Center, where numerous stages, speakers and performances brought the party to City Hall.

Pride marches happened all around the globe on Sunday, with massive crowds everywhere from New York City — where the governor ordered state agencies to provide full benefits to same-sex married couples — to New Delhi, India, where homosexual acts are illegal.

The parade differed from some held in previous years. There of course were the adult-themed floats that are ubiquitous in the annual Bay bash, but there were also sizable contingents of supportive family members and children.

One child’s sign, which he proudly held over his head near the front of the Dykes on Bikes group, read simply, “My mom’s gay, and I’m okay!”