March order stands pat in New York

NEW YORK, March 17 (UPI) -- No compromise was reached with the march organizers to allow gay activists to participate in Friday's St. Patrick's Day Parade in New York.

Gay Council Speaker Christine Quinn, who is Irish, said she has not marched in the parade since planners blocked gay groups in the early 1990s, citing time constraints as the reason, Newsday reported.

The following year, a judge ruled that the city could not force the parade, which is organized by the Ancient Order of Hibernians, to allow gay groups to participate.

"If an Israeli group wants to march in New York, do you allow neo-Nazis into their parade? People have rights," parade chairman John Dunleavy was quoted in The Irish Times yesterday. "If we let (Irish gay activists) in, is it the Irish Prostitute Association next?"

New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg planned to march in the Fifth Avenue parade, though he said he wishes the planners would allow every group to join in.