Irish PM marches in New York St. Patrick’s Day parade with partner

Openly gay Irish PM (or Taoiseach) Leo Varadkar continues his tour of America by marching in the New York City St. Patrick’s Day parade with his partner, Matt Barrett. It was only two years ago that LGBT+ people were banned from marching in the parade by The Ancient Order of the Hibernians, the group that sponsors the event, who viewed the parade as a “private religious procession.”

Speaking before the parade Varadkar told the press, ‘I’m going to be able to march in the parade now with my partner which is something that is a sign of change and a sign of great diversity, not just in Ireland but among the great community here as well.”

Varadkar had met with Vice President Mike Pence earlier in the week. Although the media was banned from the meeting the President assured the press that “I did privately manage to speak to them about equality and my support for equal rights for women and the LGBT community here in America and also in Ireland. They were very well briefed, they knew about my personal story, knew that my partner was living in Chicago. They said both Matt and I would be very welcome into their home in the future.”

Mike Pence is well known as a devout evangelical. In nearly two decades in politics, he has never once supported pro-LGBT reforms. He has actively voted against hate crime laws, gay people serving in the military, and discrimination laws that would have protected LGBT+ people.

Tim Gibson - mygwork

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