New York mayor Bill de Blasio boycotts St Patrick's Day march over ban on pro-gay posters



Bill de Blasio won't march i n famous Irish parade in protest over gay rights



Some officials praise his decision, others criticize it



Bill de Blasio, the Mayor of New York, is to boycott the 250 year old St Patrick's Day march in New York in protest over gay rights.

De Blasio will be the first mayor for over 20 years not to march in the famous Irish parade down Fifth Avenue on March 17 because he objects to the ban put in place on people who carry gay-pride signs.



'I am not planning on marching in the parade,' Mayor de Blasio said in comments carried by the New York Times.



New York Mayor Bill De Blasio has refused to take part in the St Patrick's Day parade this year

Irish cheer: Some praised De Blasio's decision to boycott the 250-year-old parade

'I will be participating in a number of other events to honor the Irish heritage of this city, but I simply disagree with the organizers of that parade,' he added.



Event organizers have said gays can participate in the march - expected to attract around 1 million people - but have said they are forbidden from advertising their sexuality.



Some rallied behind the mayor's decision, like City Council Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito.



'I have an incredibly strong trajectory of being a strong ally on issues regarding social justice and equity for the LGBTQ community, so I will definitely not march,' she said. 'The mayor took a very bold step and decision in deciding not to march.'



Openly gay public officials in the city have also said they will miss the event.



City Councilman Jimmy Van Bramer, who was arrested at the parade with a gay-pride banner in 2000, said de Blasio had taken a 'strong stand against discrimination'.



'I find it offensive that the parade takes a formal and hard line that I can’t participate,' Van Bramer said. 'That literally shuts out huge portions of our city.'

Organizers of the event say gays are welcome but can't display their sexual orientation

Others disagreed. President of the Catholic League Bill Donohue lambasted the mayor's announcement.



'Personally, I am delighted,' Donohue said in a statement posted on the Catholic League’s website.



'I do not want to march with a public official who does not want to be associated with Irish Catholics,' he added.



It was back in 1993 that a New York mayor chose not to march in the parade. David Dinkins declined to take part because of similar reasons.



Former mayor Michael Bloomberg was Irish American and marched every year.



Blasio, the first Democrat mayor since 1994, has already raised eyebrows in some quarters with his pledge to tackle inequality in the city by raising taxes on the super rich.



New York City St. Patrick's Day Parade is one of the U.S.'s oldest Irish traditions. It marched for the first time more than 250 years ago, on March 17, 1762 - 14 years before the Declaration of Independence.





