18/08/2023
Belfast Pride took place at the weekend. But without the Police Service of Northern Ireland taking part in uniform. The Police Chiefs have reclassified Pride as a political protest movement and therefore police officers are not permitted to march in uniform. The Vice President of Sinn Fein, Michelle O'Neill slammed the decision, noting “It is the biggest parade that we have here and it is something to celebrate. “It is a celebration of equality, it is love, it is such a positive thing. I think it’s a really disappointing and retrograde step that the PSNI have chosen not to attend in their uniforms. Those people from the LGBT community are our community, they are police officers, so why would that not be reflected in the PSNI’s attendance at the event itself?” For different reasons, some left wing groups and activists said that they would not want the Police at Pride anyway, as they enforce homophobic society's laws. Sinn Fein in the meantime, is now the largest single party in Northern Ireland. It is eschewed its past as the political wing of the Provisional IRA to become a social democratic party earning a large amount of support from LGBTQIA people for its stance on equality.
