The Vancouver Pride organization is compelling participants in the August 2nd parade to sign a pledge supporting transgender equality legislation. Neither the B.C. Liberal Party nor Premier Christy Clark will be taking part in this year’s parade because they have not signed the pledge. Although the wording may resemble an exhortation from the 19th Century Temperance Movement, this pledge is, of course, more a pledge of intemperance.
Ironically, this may have excluded the Anglican Diocese of Inclusion, New Westminster.
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Although Taylor said she is not aware any organizations other than the B.C. Liberals have been denied entry to the 2015 parade because their senior executives refused to sign the pledge, the Anglican Diocese of New Westminster has been frozen out for mostly bureaucratic reasons.
Michael Kalmuk, who in 2003 became the first Anglican in the world to take part in an Anglican same-sex blessing (with partner Kelly Montfort), said Thursday the diocese cannot take part in this year’s festivities because the church’s official decision-making process typically takes months or years to reach a conclusion on such matters.
“It’s really unfortunate. There was no intent to screw us up. It was just red tape,” said Kalmuk, who only learned this month about the transgender pledge required for entering the parade, which typically accepts about 150 entries. The first Vancouver Pride parade was in 1978.
