WHY

City Officials Approve Application for Boston’s ‘Straight Pride Parade’

Boston Mayor Marty Walsh will not attend the event.

The application for Boston’s “Straight Pride Parade” has been approved, officials announced Wednesday. Boston Mayor Marty Walsh will not attend the spectacle on Aug. 31, which operators claim is not an anti-gay event but “pro-straight,” the Boston Globe reports. Not all necessary permits have been approved for the parade, but organizers are confident the event will take place. John Hugo, president of the parade’s organizer Super Happy Fun America, said at a press conference: “We will have the parade, and it’s going to be a great time. We invite anyone who wants to come, as long as they respect each other.” Hugo said the parade is a chance for everyone to “just have a super happy fun time.”

Plans for the parade, which were announced earlier this month, have been bolstered by support from the far-right group Resist Marxism. The group has previously made anti-Semitic remarks and hosted other controversial events in the Boston area. Former Breitbart editor Milo Yiannopoulos will serve as grand marshal for the event.