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![[This Just In]](/images/boston/news/tji_header.gif){kind=small}
Gay youth to march BY DORIE CLARK
It’s been a rough year for queer youth, from right-wing activists’ secret taping of a youth sexuality workshop at Tufts last March to the introduction in January of two bills on Beacon Hill that would seriously limit students’ access to information about gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender (GLBT) issues. Current law allows parents to exempt their children from sex education, but a new bill by House minority leader Francis Marini would instead prevent students from participating in any class discussing sexuality or sexual orientation unless parents explicitly give permission. And a piece of proposed legislation by Senator Bruce Tarr of Gloucester would also require parental consent for students to participate in after-school gay/straight alliances. But this Saturday, GLBT youth and their allies get to focus on the positive at the seventh annual Gay/Straight Youth Pride celebration, sponsored by the Governor’s Commission on Gay and Lesbian Youth. More than 3000 people are expected at the rally and march, which begins at Copley Square and winds through the South End. The march concludes at the Hatch Shell with a festival hosted by Sue O’Connell and Keith Orr of 101.7 FM WFNX’s One in Ten, and will feature music, theater, a raffle, and speeches by Congressman Barney Frank and David Driscoll, the commissioner of the Massachusetts Department of Education. Gay/Straight Youth Pride will take place this Saturday, May 19, beginning with a rally at noon at Copley Square. The march steps off between 1 and 1:15 p.m., and will conclude at about 2 p.m. with a festival at the Hatch Shell. The event will be held rain or shine, and is free of charge. Issue Date: May 17 - 24, 2001 |
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