Gay pride supporters in Northampton said President Obama offered a boost to gay rights when he expressed support for gay marriage. Watch video
NORTHAMPTON - Coming out has come a long way.
Bryan Price, 36, one of thousands who lined Main Street in Northampton to watch the Gay Pride March with his high school pal Jennifer McGrath, of Palmer, said although he was a fairly progressive gay man in the spectrum, he could not bear to come out in high school.
"Oh no, I couldn't do it in high school. I did it when I was 18," said Price, of South Deerfield, who sported glitter in his hair and said he schooled McGrath, who is straight, on the appropriate attire to watch the parade, which kicked off at noon in colorful, musical fashion.
"She was sending me pictures and I was like: no, no, no, yes!"
The longtime friends landed on a pink, striped sequined top (for McGrath) for the event, which unfolded under cloudless blue skies and amid a political backdrop that's more promising for gays than ever. President Barack H. Obama this week announced that he is in favor of gay marriage, shifting from his previous position of opposing it. Price and McGrath were not entirely convinced it was purely a political maneuver to gain votes in an uncertain election cycle.
"We were just talking about that. We're not sure. But no other president has come out in favor of it, so it's a positive thing," McGrath said, adding that it was her first time at the parade.
Obama received resounding applause in the progressive seat of western Massachusetts, where the gay pride march has grown in numbers and support over the years. Young, old, gay and straight supporters cheered the members of the procession as they made their way to the Tri-County Fair Grounds off Route 9 for a rally.
"I love Barack Obama!" Andrew Denney, 28, a six-foot-six-inch (in heels) drag queen from Chicopee enthused as the procession mustered on Hampton Avenue. "I feel proud to live in this community at this time in history."
Denney, a server at the Olive Garden in West Springfield, has performed in drag twice a week for 10 years at Diva's, a gay bar on Pleasant Street in Northampton, and managed to pull together a glamorous, laborious look in under two hours with practice. On Saturday, he wore a short teal, one-shouldered number with bombastic hair and make-up to match before readying to board the Diva's float.
Her drag persona: "C*ntessa Yolanda Velvet."
Denney, of Chicopee, came out painlessly when he was a 16-year-old student at a performing arts high school in Hadley 12 years ago. It was a sympathetic stage, he admits, and his family and friends were supportive.
"A non-issue," he said.
He has marched in the parade for a decade.
However, first-time participant Jonathan Leary, 17, a junior at Springfield Central High School, was a first-time marcher with the Lesbian/gay/bisexual/transgender contingent at that school. He said coming out last October was an anxious moment for him, but he was pleasantly surprised by the solidarity it generated from his mother and friends of all sexual orientations.
"I'm sure it would have been harder 10 or 15 years ago. But my friends said they would support me - gay or straight," Leary said.