The South Boston Parade
By Jim Smith
BOSTON --- A federal judge has ruled in favor of the South Boston Allied War Veterans Council, which organizes the annual St. Patrick's Day parade, this after the group filed a federal lawsuit Monday against Mayor Martin Walsh alleging that the city had violated the First Amendment rights of the organizers by cutting the length of Sunday's parade in half.
"This is a clear case of the mayor abusing his discretion," Attorney Chester Darling told the Echo Monday after filing the suit in U.S. District Court.
"He wants control of the parade, and he's doing it in a heavy-handed way. We expect to prevail in court this week."
Mr. Darling was correct in his assertion.
The Veterans Council, which has been organizing the parade since 1947, wants to retain the traditional 3.2 mile route, which passes by several important sites, including the Dorchester Heights Memorial, a local American Legion Post, and the home of the late John Hurley, who died last year after organizing the parade for many years.
Organizers argue that the abbreviated route will bypass those sites and will end in an area far from subway stations, stranding spectators and marching groups in unfamiliar territory.
The shortened route was used last year because mountains of snow covered the roads and sidewalks of South Boston, resulting in smaller crowds and far fewer police responses.
But the Veterans argue that using the same route this year makes no sense because the much milder winter will likely mean that hundreds of thousands of people will be crowded into an area along the 1.4 mile route, creating a chaotic situation.
A spokesperson for Walsh said Monday that he was surprised to learn over the weekend that a suit would be filed, having met with the Veterans on Friday.
Walsh had consulted with Police Commissioner William Evans before deciding that the shorter route would be "in the best interest of public safety, while balancing the historical tradition of the parade."
However, following the judge’s decision Walsh said he accepted the court’s ruling and would himself be marching in the parade which steps off on Sunday, March 20.
“While I believe that a shorter route would have been in the best interest of public safety, I respect the judge’s decision and look forward to working with the parade organizers to make this year’s St. Patrick’s Day Parade safe for all families and spcetators,” Walsh said in a statement.
In 1995, Attorney Darling argued successfully before the U.S. Supreme Court that the veterans had a First Amendment right to control the content of the parade, thus enabling the organizers to ban the Irish-American Gay, Lesbian and Bisexual Group from the line of march.
Last year, two gay groups were allowed to march in the parade at the urging of Mayor Walsh.
Those groups will again be marching amid lingering controversy over that issue.
C.J. Doyle, executive director of the Catholic Action League of Massachusetts, is calling on the Veterans to remove the name of St. Patrick from the parade, saying that the inclusion of the gay groups "destroys the traditional character of the parade, erases whatever remains of its Catholic identity, and reduces it to a secularized cultural carnival."
Last year, Boston police issued 278 citations for public drinking, and ten people were arrested for disorderly conduct.
