Parade not a gay day

In your editorial of March 4 you refer to “New York’s (St Patrick’s Day) parade ban on gays”. It needs to be emphasised that there is absolutely no ban on anyone participating in the NY parade because of their sexual orientation per se. The ban is on carrying banners.

Given that there are other occasions, such as Gay Pride parades, when gay organisations can express their sexual orientation and carry banners to that effect, why do they insist on wanting to use another event for a purpose for which it’s not intended, ie as a sort of sexual orientation identity parade?

Would it not be deemed utterly ridiculous if heterosexuals in the parade were to carry banners proclaiming their sexual orientation?