Gay Veterans: We’ve Been Denied A Spot In Boston St. Patrick’s Day Parade

Members of OutVets, a group of gay military veterans, hold a banner and flags as they march in the annual St. Patrick's Day Parade, Sunday, March 20, 2016, in Boston's South Boston neighborhood. (AP Photo/Steven Senne)

BOSTON (AP) — Gay veterans who marched in Boston’s 2015 St. Patrick’s Day parade after decades of resistance from organizers say they have been denied a spot in this year’s event.

The veterans group, OutVets, said on their Facebook page that the reason for the denial is unclear, but “one can only assume it’s because we are LGBTQ.”

The South Boston Allied War Veterans Council, the parade’s organizer, voted 9-4 Tuesday to keep the group out of the March 19 parade. Emails and phone messages seeking comment on the reasoning were not immediately returned Wednesday morning.

Ed Flynn, a member of the council, says he voted to allow OutVets to participate. The Navy veteran says he is “saddened and outraged” that the council “voted to turn back the clock on equality.”

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