OTTAWA, July 13, 1998 (LSN) Ottawa’s “Gay Pride” parade came to the Nation’s capital on Sunday. About 10,000 people were reported to have participated, up from 8,000 last year, according to organizers. They also claimed that institutional endorsements doubled – to 50 – from last year. Pride Week, of which the parade was only one event, received a ringing endorsement from the city’s Regional government. “Whereas, diversity of sexual orientation and gender identity represents a positive contribution to society, and is therefore a matter for pride and celebration,” begins Regional Chair, Bob Chiarelli’s endorsement of the event.
The parade included the nudity and overty sexuality that one has come to expect from these events. Such offensive activity, however, was played down in local media coverage. This year was the first in which the Ottawa “Pride” celebrations did not generate a significant public outcry. The Ottawa Sun noted that there was only one “protestor waving a placard denouncing homosexuality as a sin and quoting Bible verses.”