Post Orlando, O.C. gay parade draws huge support and shares message of unity

For Harriet and Jeremy Fain, going to a gay parade for the first time Saturday was the right thing to do.

The Orange County event was “cool, cozy and absolutely important for those of us who are allies to be visible — especially after Orlando,” Harriet Fain said.

She said the Florida mass shooting earlier this month at a gay nightclub that left 49 dead convinced the mother and son from Tustin of the need to demonstrate their support of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender community.

“There’s no moment like now to show public support,” said Fain, 50. “Orange County is not always so open and receptive” to LGBT residents and “though I’ve been a supporter of gay rights since I was 15, it’s now that I finally step up. We who accept others as they are need to live our beliefs.”

Under a rainbow umbrella, she and Jeremy, 22, who will study sociology this fall at Irvine Valley College, cheered as parade marchers on a downtown Santa Ana route threw fistfuls of confetti into the enthusiastic crowd.

It was the first-ever parade organized by Orange County LGBT Pride, and included a daylong series of activities that drew more than 15,000. Security was heavy. Other gay pride parades and events being held around the country this weekend have also included an increased police presence.

Steve Romero, the group’s parade director who’s been planning the gathering since January, said he worked closely with Santa Ana police to make sure “everyone could relax and just have fun. We have a message — a message of diversity — and we’re so happy to work to echo that.”

Charlie Rosenberg and his partner, Aryndel Lamb-Marsh, drove from San Diego to attend the event. The pair lounged in the shade near a corner where police on horse patrol watched over the celebration.

“Orlando has made us more aware, for sure. But I feel pretty hopeful that there’s more understanding,” said Rosenberg, a software technician. “Two or three years ago, if we saw a commercial with a gay couple on YouTube, it’s like, wow. Now, every brand has taken us under their wings, and soon, people will get so used to seeing gays, they’re not going to fight us anymore.”

Rosenberg said he will host a bar mixer at San Diego Pride for Hillcrest Social, a mobile app he developed that is named after a local neighborhood popular with gays. He said organizers of that event plan to install metal detectors for safety, adding that he’s glad that Orange County’s celebrations don’t require such measures.

“Orlando has been a tragedy that humanized us — and in a way, it accelerated things — allowing people to be bolder in sharing their support or pushing for that support,” Lamb-Marsh said.

Many parade participants said there is a more welcoming attitude, citing rainbow flags now flying at city halls in Anaheim and Santa Ana that were unfurled during June, known nationally as Pride Month.

“Us being here today symbolizes openness and love,” says Crystal Shaber, a glass blower from Tustin.

Shaber’s mother, Lois Millage of Long Beach, added: “I’m not interested in a political statement. Just to be here with those that have the same feelings as I do is my personal statement.”

Cindy Voll, a nurse from Irvine, said she’s thankful “that Santa Ana embraces this whole celebration — that it’s out in the open and there’s not any trouble. Someday, I would like to see an environment where we can walk down the street just as we are. And where I could hang my pride flag outside my house and not have to worry about graffiti spray-painted on my door.”

Next to her, the Fains cheered loudly, as revelers whistled at the gleaming bodies of young men rocking to the beat atop a Viet Rainbow of Orange County float.

Earlier, Men Alive, a popular gay choir, drew loud applause along with the LGBT Center Orange County and PFLAG South Orange County, two groups that provide education and peer support.

Despite the crowds, Jeremy Fain said he enjoyed Orange County’s small, intimate ambiance, where neighbors fist-bump neighbors and where parking isn’t a huge hassle.

“L.A. Pride can be insane,” Fain said. “For an event that’s never been held before, this is off to a nice start.”

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