STATEMENT FROM SARAH KATE ELLIS, PRESIDENT & CEO OF GLAAD, ON NEWS ABOUT STATEN ISLAND’S NEW INCLUSIVE ST. PATRICK’S DAY PARADE

February 22, 2024 – Today, Sarah Kate Ellis, President & CEO of GLAAD, the world’s largest LGBTQ (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer) media advocacy organization, is responding to news that for the first time ever, an LGBTQ-inclusive St. Patrick’s Day Parade will take place in Staten Island, New York. Statement below and here:

“Thanks to the local advocates in Staten Island, led by the  Pride Center of Staten Island, who have fought tirelessly for inclusion, and visibility, all will be able to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day! As a proud Irish-Catholic lesbian from Staten Island, I am heartened to see that Staten Island will have an inclusive St. Patrick’s Day Parade.  At a time when extremists are working overtime to push anti-LGBTQ rhetoric and anti-LGBTQ bills, it is more important now than ever that LGBTQ people are included. LGBTQ youth in Staten Island, and everywhere, must hear this message: you belong, you are welcome, you are loved.”