NEW YORK (1010 WINS) -- Mayor Bill de Blasio on Monday called NYC Pride's plan to ban law enforcement from its events a "mistake," saying he believed the NYPD's LGBTQ officers should be allowed to "express their pride."
NYC Pride on Saturday said it was moving to ban corrections and law enforcement officers from taking part in Pride Month events until at least 2025 and reduce NYPD security presence at events.
At a news briefing Monday morning, de Blasio said he felt the group's decision was "a mistake."
"Look, I fully appreciate the extraordinary history of Pride in the city and, you know, so much meaning, so much history, and I honor what Pride has achieved over the years," he said. "I think that decision's a mistake."
"First of all, we have to keep people safe and it's been an incredibly safe, positive event, and we have to be mindful of continuing that. Second of all, you know, I believe in inclusion and we're talking about — one of the issues is officers who are members of the LGBT community wanting to march and express their pride, and their solidarity of the community, and their desire to keep changing the NYPD and changing the city," he added. "That's something I think should be embraced."
In a statement released Saturday, NYC Pride said the "sense of safety that law enforcement is meant to provide can instead be threatening, and at times dangerous, to those in our community who are most often targeted with excessive force and/or without reason."
"NYC Pride is unwilling to contribute in any way to creating an atmosphere of fear or harm for members of the community," the organization said. "The steps being taken by the organization challenge law enforcement to acknowledge their harm and to correct course moving forward, in hopes of making an impactful change."
The organization also said it would "transition to providing increased community-based security and first responders, while simultaneously taking steps to reduce NYPD presence at events."
