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03rd Mar 2016

Here’s why the mayor of New York will end his boycott of the city’s St. Patrick’s Day parade this year

Carl Kinsella

It’s all about equality.

LGBTQ groups had historically been forbidden from participating in New York City’s Patrick’s Day parade, with few exceptions.

New York’s mayor Bill de Blasio became New York’s first mayor to take a stand against this exclusion by refusing to accept an invitation to the parade after taking office in 2014, and again in 2015.

Parade organisers have now lifted the ban on LGBTQ groups marching in the parade, which means that de Blasio will end his boycott of the parade.

The Lavender and Green Alliance, a group which has been fighting to have that ban lifted for 25 years, will be the first LGBTQ group to march in the parade. 300 will march behind the Lavender and Green banner, according to RTÉ.

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