PRIDE

A little bit off the beaten path here, not so much about family tonight. 

Many do not agree, and I am not here to convince, defend or even really share my view on the matter, but I will say that I am glad on a day like this, that we have our constitution in place to protect things like freedom of speech, religion, and that we have the right to chose our partners, jobs, parenting choices etc. 

 Today they held the first ever in Clovis, Pride Parade, and I was there with my camera.

It was really great, small, but great. The community here has an extreme phobia of gay, lesbian, bi, transgender individuals, and they truly believe it is an abomination, and they may catch it.

In any event I was proud to witness it, I was proud to be there, I enjoyed the music, and yelling, smiles, honking, and the smell of pride in the air.

Of course, some of the anti gay's were there as well with their signs condemning them, the Potters House church held a rally on a street corner with their microphone attempting to drown out the parade with the gospel. The parade began late, it was a shame to see the Clovis Police Dpt. show disrespect for the event. Although all of the proper channels had been gone through, and a permit was in place, the police escort to begin the parade did not show up on time, nor did they put up the required street barricades to keep traffic from driving through.  I imagine they thought that if they didn't show, the parade would not happen.The parade was scheduled to begin at 12:30 pm and at 5 minutes till 1pm, they decided to begin anyway. The police did not show up until another 10 minutes. I am proud of all of those who attended and participated, it took some gut's, especially in this town. I hope this will not be the last parade here. Here are some photos from today.