London is wet, but doesn’t receive much heavy rain, so waterproof outer layers should do the trick. Bask in more sun and not-so-cold temperatures from April to October, and enjoy the summer months where the average high is only 73º F. Weather is of course gray and gloomy, with a touch of fog – but mostly for the dark winter months. There are more theaters than New York, and many of the world-class museums – such as the wonderful Tate Modern – are free. Over 300 languages are spoken locally, and more visitors pop through London than any other city in the world, visiting Big Ben, Buckingham Palace, and all the royal in-betweens. You can’t get any more international than London.
The historical perviness of Soho has also been toned down in recent times with the closing of the Soho Revue bar, making it the end of night terminus of Central London pets after a difficult day on the job.Ĭheck out Kylie Condon's travel journal exploring the lesbian culture in London. At one time the center of queer partying and clubbing, this London locality has bloomed into a gentler, more balanced alternative to the overindulgences of other hardcore gay party areas like the Vauxhall Gay Village. Gay London has also quietly developed a robust and visible LGBT community centered around the busy SoHo District.
San Francisco's annual Pride parade will take place on Sunday, June 26.London is groovy man, and not just because of the mod ‘70s! London abides even after more than two millennia, maintaining its international importance as a commercial and cultural center. The group added, "We look forward to working with Pride organizations and law enforcement agencies from around the world in finding a solution that is satisfactory to all." "We acknowledge and appreciate the steps that have been taken to heal decades of distrust between law enforcement agencies and the LGBTQ+ communities." "SF Pride remains committed to practicing radical inclusion, practicing harm reduction in our space, and supporting those who are marginalized within our community," the group said. San Francisco Pride's interim president, Suzanne Ford, and its board of directors said in a statement on Monday that while they have been working with the city's law enforcement to come to an agreement on uniforms at the parade, they have "not come to a solution that is mutually beneficial." "Now they ask us to hide the fact of where we work." "For LGBTQ+ officers, this brings us back to a time when we had to hide at work that we were LGBTQ+," the group added. "This is its own form of prejudice and further erodes the tenuous relationship between peace officers and the communities we keep safe." "The board decided to punish LGBTQ+ peace officers for the failings of others," the group said in a statement. On Monday, the San Francisco Police Officer’s Pride Alliance also denounced San Francisco Pride's uniform ban, pleading with the group's board of advisers to reverse its decision. Organizers in Denver have decided to invite individual LGBTQ officers to this year's parade, but not the city's entire department. New York City's ban extends until at least 2025. Vancouver's Pride parade followed suit in 2020.Īnd in addition to San Francisco Pride, organizers of Pride events in New York City and Denver also recently banned uniformed police officers from marching in their parades, citing concerns over racial injustice. In 2017, Toronto Pride banned uniformed officers from participating in its annual march due to concerns of racial injustice raised by the Toronto chapter of Black Lives Matter.
In fact, the country's first LGBTQ Pride marches - held in June 1970 - were organized to commemorate the one-year anniversary of a police raid at New York City gay bar Stonewall Inn, or what became known as the 1969 Stonewall Uprising.īut in recent years, tensions between police and the queer community have grown in the wake of a global racial reckoning. law enforcement and the LGBTQ community are nothing new. “We can’t say, ‘We want more Black officers,’ or ‘We want more LGBTQ officers,’ and then treat those officers with disrespect when they actually step up and serve.”Ĭonflicts between U.S. “One of the central planks of the movement for better policing is a demand that the people who serve in uniform better represent the communities they are policing,” Breed said.