In an age of meme-derived capital valued in likes, shares and views, the decision is yet another example in which performative politics is mistaken for thoughtful deliberation and real effort. Given that support, the ban is a bewildering move by Heritage of Pride to drive apart natural partners in change. Each time our presence on the route has been met with deafening cheers, high-fives, and sincere embraces from the community. For several years, I’ve marched with GOAL for Pride alongside uniformed and civilian professionals representing a number of domestic and international law enforcement agencies. Those people, in turn, need the support of the larger LGBTQIA+ community.
There is no progress without people willing to do the work inside of organizations whose cultural inertia makes them resistant to change. For a new gay officer or recruit who is struggling with whether to come out, the message is unmistakable: The LGBTQIA+ community will not support you. Instead, with this ban, it drastically undercut our ability to encourage LGBTQIA+ law enforcement members to stand up and be counted. I had assumed then that Heritage of Pride, which had been a close partner of GOAL and which relied on the NYPD for the security of their highest-profile event, would support us. I took to the stage in 2019 to pay it forward. GOAL’s leadership and support allowed me to finally reconcile my public service with my private self. Years before, I became involved with the Gay Officers Action League (GOAL), an organization that advocates for and implements law enforcement reforms responsive to the needs of LGBTQIA+ officers and public. That’s how it had worked for me, after all. I would have likely continued that way were it not for advice from my boss, who wisely argued that others in the department struggling to fit in might find some encouragement in my words.