February 16, 2011
By Staff Reporter
By Jim Smith
BOSTON — The Democratic candidates seeking to replace U.S. Rep. Joseph Moakley, who died of leukemia on Memorial Day, clashed last week over a number of issues during a televised debate, including whether they would march in South Boston’s annual St. Patrick’s Day Parade.
Of the four state senators seeking to represent the 9th District, which runs from South Boston through a number of suburban cities and towns, only two said they would march in the popular parade, which is organized by the South Boston Allied War Veterans Council.
State Sens. Stephen Lynch of South Boston and Marc Pacheco of Taunton told WLVI debate moderator Jon Keller that they would march in the parade, while Sens. Cheryl Jacques of Needham and Brian Joyce of Milton said that they would stay away because of the exclusion of gay groups from the event.
"Personally, as an Irish-American, I would march in the St. Patrick’s Day parade even if I had a broken leg," Lynch said. "That’s a celebration of Irish culture and Irish heritage, and the organizers of that parade, the veterans, want to keep it a traditional parade. Gay people take wonderful pride in their own parade . . . and I’m proud of my culture."
Lynch, who gave the oration at last month’s John Boyle O’Reilly Memorial Exercises in Brookline, is pro-life and more socially conservative than the other three candidates.
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Jacques, who is openly lesbian, told the TV audience that she would encourage the veterans to be more inclusive. Until then, she said, she would not march in the parade.
Joyce voiced similar concerns. "I abhor any form of discrimination. . . . I have not and would not participate in that parade," he said.
Pacheco, who is of Portuguese descent, said he has enjoyed the camaraderie of the annual South Boston breakfasts that precede the St. Patrick’s Day parade. "And if I was asked to participate in the parade, I would," he said.
The controversy surrounding the parade began in 1993 after the Irish-American Gay, Lesbian and Bisexual Group went to court after being denied entry into the parade. The veterans canceled the parade in 1994 after the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court upheld an injunction against them, prohibiting the veterans from excluding GLIB.
Describing GLIB as a bogus group of gay activists whose sole purpose was to make a mockery of the traditional family values reflected in the parade, the veterans’ lawyer, Chester Darling, then took the case to the U.S. Supreme Court. In April 1995, Darling argued that the veterans had a First Amendment right to determine the make-up of the parade. By a unanimous vote of 9-0, the Supreme Court agreed with the veterans.
Moakley himself was a participant in the parade throughout his political career. Dying from leukemia, he rode in this year’s parade 10 weeks before his death, having been named as the honorary grand marshal.
Results of a poll in last Sunday’s Boston Herald suggest that Lynch will be marching in next year’s parade not as a state senator but as a U.S. congressman.
Lynch leads the other candidates by 24 points, with 36 percent of likely voters. Joyce and Pacheco trail at 12 percent, with Jacques getting 10 percent in the Herald poll.
The Democratic primary is set for Sept. 11. The winner will then face a Republican in the general election on Oct. 16.