Marching with Pride? Debates on Uniformed Police Participating in Vancouver’s LGBTQ Pride Parade

Analysis of “Yes” Responses to Uniformed Police Marching in Pride: Perspectives From LGBTQ+ Communities in St. John’s, Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada

“…In Canada and the United States, evidence of police attempts to right historical wrongs can be seen in the issuing of apologies by police chiefs or commissioners (Andrew & Ahmed, 2019;Hooper, 2017). Despite this gesture of reconciliation, some LGBTQ+ people continue to hold unfavorable impressions of police, and call for a ban on uniformed police from Pride parades (Holmes, 2019(Holmes, , 2021Lamusse, 2016), perhaps for the reasons discussed above. Nevertheless, this study examines LGBTQ+ people's support for uniformed police at Pride parades.…”

“…Newfoundland and Labrador may not yet have experienced the same fate as Toronto, but the show of support seen across many parts of Canada for a uniformed Pride police ban recognizes the mistreatment of Indigenous and people of color by police institutions and is a clarion call for change in police relations with these groups (Greey, 2018;Holmes, 2019Holmes, , 2021Walcott, 2017). Undermining the legitimacy of the demand for a police ban could perpetuate the exclusion and silencing of marginalized LGBTQ+ members and allies as if their voice did not matter.…”

“…This simplistic and reductionist division served to direct attention away from concerns about policing experienced by Indigenous and people of color, focusing instead on how Pride could be more responsive to police who wanted to march in the parade. In this way, respondents seemed willing to achieve the goal of a strong police-LGBTQ+ community relationship at any cost, even if having uniformed police at Pride would make some people feel unsafe ("Black Lives Matter Toronto Stalls Pride Parade," 2016;Holmes, 2019Holmes, , 2021Lamusse, 2016;Te, 2018). Full inclusion, then, was not the goal, given the lack of attention paid to the effect that a uniformed police presence would have on Indigenous and people of color.…”

“…concerns have centered on historical and ongoing police mistreatment of members of LGBTQ+ communities who are not White, including calls for uniformed police ban at Pride parades (Greey, 2018;Holmes, 2019Holmes, , 2021Lamusse, 2016). Of course, it would be erroneous to suggest that views are shared within and across social groups on this matter.…”

“…Of course, it would be erroneous to suggest that views are shared within and across social groups on this matter. For example, among LGBTQ+ White, Indigenous, and people of color, there is no consensus on uniformed police participation at Pride parades (Holmes, 2021). The lack of consensus, however, does not make the demand of those calling for the ban any less important.…”