Jubilant Marchers at Gay Pride Parades Celebrate Supreme Court Ruling

The revelers carried handmade signs and rainbow flags, screeching noisemakers and fussy children.

 

A familiar chant — at least before the coda — wafted over 41st Street in Midtown Manhattan.

 

“What do we want?”

 

“Marriage equality!”

 

“When did we get it?”

 

“Friday!”

 

Two days after the United States Supreme Court affirmed same-sex marriage as a right, well-timed pride parades on Sunday in the country’s twin hubs of gay activism, New York City and San Francisco, promised a sort of social catharsis — a bicoastal toast to the nation’s rapid shift on gay rights and an extended curtain call for the movement that drove it.

 

“All 50 states!” the New York crowd roared at one point. It was no longer a plea, but a celebration.

 

If even a typical pride parade can blur the lines between friend and stranger, the proceedings on Sunday assumed the feel of a large-scale wedding reception, uniting graying activists, fledgling families and party seekers in a historic moment that all seemed keenly aware they occupied.

 

Read More: Jubilant Marchers at Gay Pride Parades Celebrate Supreme Court Ruling – The New York Times