Free Republic

Dancing, cheering and toting placards, gay rights supporters took to the streets in huge numbers at annual gay pride parades across the United States on Sunday, with attendance boosted by recent Supreme Court rulings in support of same-sex marriage. Gay pride celebrations were held in San Francisco, New York, Chicago, Seattle, Minneapolis and several other cities by marchers energized by the top court's rulings extending federal benefits to married homosexual couples and striking down a ban on same-sex marriages in California. In San Francisco, two couples who sued to overturn the California ban led nearly 1 million people in one...

Boy Scouts and adult volunteers wore their uniforms Sunday as they marched in Utah's gay pride parade — defying a leader of the youth organization who had said they couldn't do so under the organization's guidelines prohibiting advocating political or social positions.

'Thousands of people lined the streets of York to welcome troops home from Afghanistan in a 'humbling' display, days after soldier Lee Rigby was murdered in the street in Woolwich. The death of Drummer Rigby, 25, who was hacked to death by alleged Islamist extremists on Wednesday, left the nation appalled, and the community in York appeared determined to show its support for the armed forces as 2 Signal Regiment marched through the city yesterday. The regiment's commanding officer Lieutenant Colonel Colin Vaudin said the massive turnout at the parade was 'testament to the character of the British people'. Drummer...

DEVELOPING: New Orleans police are searching for three suspects Sunday after at least 12 people were shot during a Mother’s Day parade. Chief Serpas announced in a press conference that the youngest victim is believed to be a 10-year-old girl. Police say she suffered a graze wound, WVUE Fox 8 reported. Police say about 300 were attending the traditional jazz band parade when shots were fired. Serpas said that the procession had been accompanied by officers, who saw two or three suspects run from the scene in the city's 7th Ward. Nobody has been arrested. It's unclear what sparked the...

New Orleans (CNN) -- A suspect has been identified in a New Orleans parade shooting that left 19 people injured. Police Superintendent Ronal Serpas said that authorities are looking for 19-year-old Akein Scott. Serpas said New Orleans police are familiar with Scott, who was arrested in March and may be out on bond. "I would recommend strongly that Mr. Scott contact anybody who he is comfortable with to turn himself in," Serpas said. When asked if Scott was the lone shooter, Serpas said it was still early in the investigation. The superintendent credited several people calling a Crimestoppers tip line...

“Hi,” she says, striding into the room with a smooth gait and a low, sure voice. “I’m Chelsea!” The handshake is confident, the eyes firmly fixed. With the ease of her father and the directness of her mother, Chelsea Clinton is stepping out into the world. At 33, she wears her political royalty in triplicate: There are her famous parents, of course, but also her mother-in-law, former Pennsylvania congresswoman Marjorie Margolies. After several years in the private sector (with McKinsey & Company, then with a hedge fund), Clinton has emerged onto the civic stage in her own right, graceful and...

“Didn't know the Marines had to take the bolts out of their rifles for the Inaugural,” an email forwarded to Gun Rights Examiner from a United States Marine Corps source observed. “Wonder if someone can explain why [they] would be marching in the inaugural parade with no bolts in their rifles!” The email linked to a YouTube video of the 57th Presidential Inaugural Parade, embedded in this column, featuring Bravo Company Marines from the Marine Barracks Washington. Sure enough, the observation in the email is confirmed by watching the video, with screen shots provided in the photo and slide show...

The first couple walked past the FBI building, before stepping back into the limousine before reaching Freedom Plaza. Freedom Plaza is the site of one of the only authorized demonstration zones, where a strip of the plaza is designated a free speech zone.

Four people reportedly shot along Martin Luther King, Jr. parade route in New Orleans (CBS/AP) NEW ORLEANS - At least four people were shot Monday in New Orleans along the route of the city's Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial March. CBS affiliate WWLTV reports that, according to neighbors, gunshots rang out less than an hour after the parade passed through the neighborhood. New Orleans police responded to the gunfire at about 1 p.m. in the Central City neighborhood, near the intersection of Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard and LaSalle Street. Police Superintendent Ronal Serpas was among those who responded to...

Masked and armed members of Fatah, Hamas’ rival party headed by Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas, shot automatic rifles in the air as they marched through Hevron on Saturday. The parade marked the anniversary of the founding of Fatah by Yasser Arafat, who was succeeded by Abbas after his death eight years ago. The scene of masked men shooting rifles was identical with Hamas demonstrations in Gaza over the years. The march did not encroach on the Jewish neighborhoods in Hevron, but it illustrates the face of Fatah not reported in mainstream media, which promotes Abbas as Israel’s ”peace partner.”...

PASADENA (CBSLA.com) — Military dogs that have served alongside soldiers on the battlefield are getting a special tribute at the Pasadena Tournament of Roses Parade on New Year’s Day. The four-legged heroes will be honored through a festive, floral float titled “Canines with Courage”, which showcases the exact replica of the United States Military Working Dog Teams National Monument in Texas. “It’s just amazing to see that they’re actually going to have a monument to recognize their service and everything they’ve done and all the lives that they’ve saved,” said Gunnery Sgt. Chris Willingham of the U.S. Marine Corps. Lucca,...

CBS 7 has just learned that at least 20 people have been transported and Midland Memorial has gone Code 1 meaning all emergency hospital personal must report to the hospital UPDATE 5:12 ***Eyewitnesses tell CBS7 the trailer was carrying the veterans ****

Hate and Intolerance for America was on parade September 23, 2012, at the NYC Muslim Day Parade. One of the more disturbing parts of the Muslim Day Parade was the proud display of the Islamic Black Flag of Jihad visible throughout the event. The Black Flag of Jihad was hoisted above our overrun embassies in Egypt, Libya, Tunisia, etc... The Jihadist's pulled down and burned the American flag and replaced it with the Islamic Black Flag of Jihad as a symbol of dominance and military victory. The hatred and intolerance for the United States of America, the Islamic Black Flag...

Protesters disrupt Labor Day paradeBy Lindsay Ruebens Posted: Monday, Sep. 03, 2012 CHARLOTTE, N.C. In the midst of a family-friendly event, about a dozen people from the Occupy Wall Street movement snuck their way into an uptown Labor Day parade between the postal worker’s union and a group supporting the election of Gary Henderson for district court judge. They chanted, “Left wing, right wing, stop that chatter! Corporations own the government, your votes don’t matter!” Many of them carried signs written on the back of pizza boxes, and one read, “Obama is a F------ Traitor.”

A Republican candidate for Vigo County office claims he was booted from Terre Haute’s Labor Day Parade because of his party affiliation. Caleb Fleschner, a Republican candidate running for Vigo County commissioner, said Friday afternoon politics are to blame for his removal from the parade line-up. But Charles Toth, head of the Wabash Valley Central Labor Council AFL-CIO’s parade committee, said political affiliation had nothing to do with the rejection. Toth did say, however, that the organization does reserve the right to determine who participates in its event.

The Twin Cities Heroes Parade didn't wait for Veterans Day, giving a special thanks to those who've served in the last decade. After all the emotions Derek Goodridge and his family have endured since doctors amputated the Marine's right arm, Saturday finally brought happy tears. Together, the 24-year-old, his parents and several family members walked Nicollet Mall in downtown Minneapolis in Saturday's Twin Cities Heroes parade -- tearing up from the hugs, handshakes and couple hundred strangers showing support. It was the first parade he's been a part of since he was injured in an IED explosion in Afghanistan more...

Oklahoma Republican Sen. James Inhofe told The Daily Caller he believes President Barack Obama pressured the military into granting an unprecedented exception to rules that prohibit participation in political activities while in uniform. The Defense Department authorized a waiver to allow uniformed service members to march in last weekend’s San Diego gay pride parade, overriding a Defense Department directive‘s specific rules against uniformed service members’ participation in political events. Read more: http://dailycaller.com/2012/07/25/sen-inhofe-obama-forced-military-to-abandon-apolitical-stance/#ixzz21kEIrMCM

Oklahoma Republican Sen. James Inhofe told The Daily Caller he believes President Barack Obama pressured the military into granting an unprecedented exception to rules that prohibit participation in political activities while in uniform. The Defense Department authorized a waiver to allow uniformed service members to march in last weekend’s San Diego gay pride parade, overriding a Defense Department directive‘s specific rules against uniformed service members’ participation in political events. “The Department of Defense isn’t allowing this to go on, it’s the president,” Inhofe said in an interview with TheDC. “The secretary of defense answers to the president, and the military...

Sen. Jim Inhofe (R-Okla.), a senior member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, demanded that Defense Secretary Leon Panetta explain why the Pentagon allowed uniformed service members to participate in this past weekend’s "gay pride" parade in San Diego. The Pentagon said last week that it would allow approximately 300 military personnel wearing uniforms to march in the San Diego parade, but that it was not making a blanket exception for the future. In a letter to Panetta sent Tuesday, however, Inhofe said the move was a clear violation of the long-time ban on military

Republican lawmakers are blasting the Pentagon's decision to allow troops to march in uniform at a San Diego gay pride parade last week. Two senior Republicans on the House and Senate Armed Services committees said Tuesday that the Pentagon was out of line to grant the one-time exemption that allowed military uniforms in the parade. Rep. Randy Forbes (R-Va.) said the Pentagon made a “dangerous exception” to its policy of not allowing military uniforms in parades. In a statement, the Armed Forces Readiness subcommittee chairman said that the decision was a made to advance the Obama administration’s social agenda. “I...