The story was short but news that the Prince George RCMP is taking part in this year's Pride parade was still worthy of its place on the front page this week.
It wasn't that long ago that the annual celebration of non-heterosexual lifestyles was a hot potato across the community. Although city council initially agreed to proclaim the Saturday of the parade as Pride Day for the first three years, Mayor Colin Kinsley and the council of the day were opposed from 2000 to 2003, arguing that the event was non-inclusive and political in nature.
Cliff Dezell and Dan Rogers stood alone on council in support of the proclamation.
"It's a legitimate request that deserves to be debated and deserves to be granted," Dezell said in 2001.
A B.C. Human Rights Tribual ruling against Terrace for discriminating against a group based on sexual orientation in July 2002 didn't stop the Prince George city council at a meeting just two weeks later from refusing to recognize Pride Day for the third consecutive year. Coun. Gord Leighton changed his vote that year to support Dezell and Rogers, pointing out that the city had previously granted a proclamation to the Knights of Columbus, a group that only includes men of Catholic faith.
Kinsley tried to find a compromise in August, suggesting a proclamation affirming everyone, regardless of their age, class, race, creed, religion, sex or sexual orientation. The move was supported by the Gay and Lesbian Association (GALA) North but rejected by the Prince George chapter of Youthquest.
In September, Youthquest filed its own human rights complaint against Kinsley and city council, demanding not just the proclamation but anti-homophobia training for the mayor and council, as well as $25,000 in damages from the city.
After discussions between the city and the human rights tribunal, the rainbow Pride flag went up for a few days and Pride Day was finally proclaimed in 2004. By then, even Kinsley had softened his stance.
"The gay people of this city have nothing to fear from me," he said in 2005. "I will defend their rights and stand up for them against discrimination, they are equal members of our society."
It's only been eight years but Kinsley's comments seem quaint now.
The inclusion of Prince George RCMP and North District officers for the first time in this year's parade is long overdue but there's a historical reason why it took so long. This may seem like a symbolic gesture to many but it is an act filled with significance within the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgendered community.
The modern gay rights movement began with the Stonewall riots in New York City in the summer of 1969, after the police brutally cracked down on the openly gay patrons of the Stonewall Inn. The first Pride parade was held the following summer and the long march to equal social and legal status for homosexuals began.
Including police officers in the Pride parade is a signal that the gay community, which once feared the police, now sees law enforcement as the protectors of their hard-earned rights.
Conciliation, not confrontation, builds communities, so Saturday morning's parade with the participation of police officers will be a special moment in Prince George's history. Both the parade organizers and local police leadership deserve full applause for this gesture, which hopefully becomes an annual tradition.
