Quasney died at age 38 in February a few months after the couple won in court. Supreme Court decision that let stand two federal court rulings which found that Indiana’s gay marriage ban was unconstitutional.ĭuring Saturday’s festivities, Morehead said 10 same-sex couples wed at an on-site chapel named for Niki Quasney, a Munster woman who, along with her wife, Amy Sandler, successfully challenged Indiana’s gay marriage ban. This year’s festival is the first since same-sex marriage became legal in Indiana last October under a U.S. He said the festival’s 9-day run is also expected to match or exceed last year’s attendance of 96,000 people. Last year’s parade attracted about 40,000 people and festival President Chris Morehead said Saturday’s parade may top that. Saturday’s parade was the culmination of the Circle City IN Pride Festival, which featured 16 events over nine days. Things have changed and Indiana needs to get on with the change because love is love. Nicole Short, a 29-year-old bank teller from Indianapolis who’s one of Meyer’s friends, said it’s “crucial” that lawmakers endorse civil rights protections and move on past any debates about the LGBT community.
It just gets my blood boiling,” she said. It’s hard to give your money to a state when they don’t support who you are. “Why would I stay in a state that doesn’t support me? I could go to one that does. If Indiana lawmakers fail next year to pass civil rights protections for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender residents, Meyers said she and many others in the LGBT community may opt to move to more welcoming states. Although lawmakers eventually clarified that law after some companies banned travel to the state and some conventions threatened to cancel, she said the law had harmed Indiana’s image. Meyers, who is lesbian, said she was stunned when she heard about the religious objections law Republican Gov. No Exceptions” and provoked cheers and whistles of support as it was carried along the parade route. Tami Meyers, a 41-year-old nurse, traveled from Huntington in northern Indiana to see the parade with friends and cheer on parade participants, some of whom rode atop colorful floats, waving rainbow flags that are a symbol of LGBT pride.Īmong the many banners carried by those marching in the parade was one which read “God Loves You. The Republican mayor was invited to serve as grand marshal after he spoke out against Indiana’s religious objections law, which critics called discriminatory against the LGBT community. Mayor Greg Ballard, who served as grand marshal of the Cadillac Barbie IN Pride Parade, joined his wife, Winnie, in waving from the back of a streetcar to thousands of cheering people who lined the downtown parade route. This was the first time a sitting Indianapolis mayor has done so.INDIANAPOLIS (AP) – Tens of thousands of people converged Saturday on Indianapolis for an annual parade celebrating the lesbian-gay-bisexual-transgender community only months after a stinging debate over Indiana’s new religious objections law. Mayor Greg Ballard served as Grand Marshal for the Pride parade. Stites said, “I hope that we get more allies and more who understand that we need their support to get through this time of crisis.” Indianapolis LGBT community and supporters came together back in March when Governor Mike Pence signed into law the Religious Freedom Restoration Act, a bill many said gave businesses the right to discriminate based on sexual orientation.Governor Pence and other elected officials disagreed, but that did not stop thousands from protesting. Gay people are just as diverse as straight people. Among them was the one for whom the parade is named: Cadillac Barbie.Ĭadillac Barbie, whose real name is Gary Brackett, said, “It’s the one time of the year that we all come together. There was a lots of music, lots of dancing and lots of drag queens.
Photo gallery | Indy’s Cadillac Barbie Parade Stites was one of tens of thousands of people who enjoyed Saturday’s Pride parade. INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) – Saturday marked the end of another week-long of activities to celebrate the city’s LGBT community.ĭozens of floats and hundreds of participants took over the streets of downtown Indy to celebrate this year’s Cadillac Barbie IN Pride Parade.Įd Stites of Greenwood said, “I came to show off my queer pride.”