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"So we asked our police security officer to bring it up as a reminder." "Most people abided by the rules - but we had some individuals who decided to push the envelope a little to see how far they could go," Doughman said of recent parades. These rules, he said, were drafted to conform with the city's public nudity ordinance and the state's anti-obscenity law, which bars the parade from featuring sexual paraphernalia and "real or simulated sex acts." Its executive director, Michael Doughman, said the change this year did not involve any new rules - but rather a warning that existing rules would be more strictly enforced. The parade is organized by the Dallas Tavern Guild, an association of gay bars.
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Some marchers did dress in skimpy underwear, despite pre-parade speculation this would not be allowed. The only reported arrests were for intoxication, not for nudity or lewdness.
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"Why? To do that turns the Pride Parade into a We-Are-Ashamed parade, and I refuse to be part of that."ĭespite the controversy, the Dallas Voice reported that the parade was "business as usual," with larger than normal turnout marking the event's 30th anniversary. "The assimilationists insist we tone down and throw away all our joyous sexiness," he wrote. "The 'queer' is effectively being erased from our pride celebration."Īnother activist, Hardy Haderman, wrote an aggrieved column for the Dallas Voice, a weekly serving the gay community. "To make the parade more 'family friendly' and to accommodate comfort for the increasing number of attending heterosexuals and corporate sponsorship, participants are being asked to cover up!" activist Daniel Scott Cates wrote on his Facebook page. The warnings outraged some local activists, whose reactions swiftly echoed through gay-oriented social media nationwide. Police said anyone violating indecency laws in front of children could be charged with a felony. At issue was a warning from police and organizers that rules related to nudity and sexual behavior would be enforced more strictly than in past years.