Chicago's Gay Pride Parade was a four-and-a-half-hour celebration on Chicago's North Side with an estimated 1 million enthusiastic people participating. The crowd was particularly jubilant because of the Supreme Court's decision on June 26 legalizing same-sex marriage.
The Chicago Police Department officers' attentive presence and the mostly law-abiding, though behaviorally challenging revelers ( including a small sit-in protest early in the parade ) made for a mostly safe and entertaining event for adults on that mild summer day.
A small group of Christian anti-gay protesters occupied the same location that they have for years, at the end of the parade route. People of differing opinions voiced them colorfully and in a law-abiding way. There were no noticeable protesters representing other religious groups.
Whether one considers the day to have been a success depends on one's individual beliefs. At least we know that we live in a city where those beliefs and such a happening is permitted. Not too many other places in the world could say as much. Perhaps there is hope yet for our beleaguered, challenged Chicago.
Leon J. Hoffman, Ph.D.
Chicago