Belfast LGBT Pride bans four major political parties amid puberty blockers storm
Belfast’s LGBT Pride has banned four major political parties from taking part in its parade this year.
The ban applies to Sinn Fein, the DUP, Alliance and the UUP – but is considered to be particularly damaging for Sinn Fein and Alliance, both of whom regularly march in Pride parades under their party banners.
The move comes around a month after the committee running Belfast Pride found itself embroiled in a huge controversy among its own supporters in an ongoing row over banning puberty blockers.
Its own backers accused the organisation of failing transgender people by not joining other of the province’s Pride bodies in banning the four parties that make up the Northern Ireland Executive from taking part.
The Pride bans are part of an ongoing row over the government outlawing puberty blockers for under-18s; stated to be in line with medical advice, LGBT rights groups argue it will cause hurt to young transgender people and their families.
In a statement published yesterday, Belfast Pride said they would not accept applications to take part in this year’s parade from “those political parties involved in the decision to ban puberty blockers in Northern Ireland”.
“Belfast Pride is deeply concerned about the impact this decision has had, and will have, on trans young people,” said the body, adding that the decision was made after consultation with “LGBTQIA+ people and allies”.
However, that very consultation is what sparked anger among their own supporters last month. It was met with two days of overwhelming fury, with Pride’s backers feeling it was effectively asking the public to make the decision instead of the committee coming to a decisive stance of its own.
Yesterday’s statement added: “We recognise that there are diverse opinions on the involvement of political parties in Belfast Pride, and that some LGBTQIA+ people will be unhappy with this decision.
“What has been almost universal is the anger and frustration expressed at the decision to ban puberty blockers in Northern Ireland and the poor communication and consultation surrounding this decision.”
Pride went onto call on “all parties to publish their position on the wider trans healthcare agenda, to which they can be held to account”, adding that the LGBT community is “living in unprecedented times where our hard-won rights are once again under threat”.