SF tightens Pride security following Orlando shooting

San Francisco public safety officials are taking no chances with this weekend’s Pride celebration after an attack this month at a gay nightclub in Orlando in which 49 people were massacred.

For the first time, there will be metal detectors — a combination of walk-through machines and handheld wands — at all entry points to Pride’s two-day celebration in Civic Center Plaza on Saturday and Sunday. People attending the two-day event also will not be permitted to bring in bags bigger than 18 by 18 inches, city officials said Monday, and bags will be searched. Visitors won’t be required to remove their shoes like at airports.

Pride spokesman Sam Singer said organizers and police have yet to decide how many entry points there will be. He also said it is undecided who will pay for the metal detectors. Private security guards will operate them, and city officials said to expect lengthy lines to get into the event.

The two-day celebration will feature one main stage as well as 20 smaller stages and venues featuring music, performers and speakers. The festivities will last from noon to 6 p.m. on Saturday and from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Sunday. Roughly 300,000 people are expected to attend over the two days.

There won’t be metal detectors or limitations on bag size at Sunday’s Pride parade, which begins at 10:30 a.m. at Market and Beale streets, and ends at Market and Eighth streets. But there will be a larger-than-usual police presence and a contingent of undercover officers will also patrol LGBT clubs.

Overall, the Police Department will deploy about 25 percent more officers for Pride events this year than last year, said Michael Redmond, deputy chief of the department’s operations bureau. Redmond couldn’t give an estimate of how many officers that equaled.

The extra security precautions seek to balance safety and fun. San Francisco Pride is one of the biggest events of its kind in the country, with an expected draw of about 1 million people. But the massacre at Orlando’s Pulse nightclub that killed 49 people, plus the gunman, and wounded dozens more has cast a pall on the normally festive occasion.

The Police Department will deploy about 25 percent more officers for Pride events this year than last year. The Police Department will deploy about 25 percent more officers for Pride events this year than last year. Photo: Eric Risberg, AP Photo: Eric Risberg, AP Image 1 of / 29 Caption Close SF tightens Pride security following Orlando shooting 1 / 29 Back to Gallery

“We are obviously continuing with a heavy heart as we go into this week,” said Pride Executive Director George Ridley Jr. “We want to remind everyone to continue to be vigilant and if you see something, say something.”

Anne Kronenberg, director of San Francisco’s Department of Emergency Management, encouraged people to sign up for emergency text notifications by texting 888-7777 with the message “alertsf.”

City officials encouraged residents to enjoy the festivities despite the massacre in Orlando.

“We are coming together as a city not only to mourn but to celebrate our diversity,” Mayor Ed Lee said.

“As we move into the Pride weekend, it is really tempting to curl up into a ball and retreat ... but we have to do the opposite,” said Supervisor Scott Wiener, whose district includes the Castro. “We need to have the most celebratory and joyous Pride that we have ever had before. That is how we will win and that is how we will send the message that nothing is going to get us down.”