#VegasPride 2012: The Parade (& The Candidates Who Joined Us)

There's just something special and something awe inspiring about Las Vegas Pride. Is it the glitter? Is it the the variety of wardrobes? Is it the backdrop of Fabulous Downtown Las Vegas? Or is it simply the people, the diverse array of people coming together to celebrate who we are, where we've come, and what lies next for our LGBTQ community?



As you can see below, we had quite the parade last night. And what made it all the more special were the guests who marched with us. It will make you wonder who's really a "political liability".







Both John Oceguera and Steven Horsford rode in the Las Vegas Pride Parade with HRC Las Vegas and our local Stonewall Democrats. And both candidates were more than happy to greet the parade watchers and share not just their standard campaign pitches, but also their promise to support full equality for Nevada's LGBTQ families. Oh, and did I mention they were riding by a bunch of "militant marching gays" who were dancing to the likes of (the late great) Whitney Houston and Lady Gaga? This was truly a sight to behold.

And what made this even more amazing was the fact that both Horsford and Oceguera face competitive Congressional races. Remember the days when many swing district Democrats preferred to shy away from "controversial issues"? Obviously, Horsford and Oceguera had no "controversial issues" with coming to Pride and openly proclaiming their support for LGBTQ equality. This really showed how far both national and Nevada Democrats have come, as well as the strong character of both candidates present.







In addition to Oceguera and Horsford personally marching/riding with HRC & Stonewall in Pride, Shelley Berkley (NV-Sen), Dina Titus (NV-01), and President Obama's Nevada campaign all had strong representation at Las Vegas Pride. And again, all campaigns were so proud to march with HRC & Stonewall and tout their pro-equality records. I guess now that the Democratic Party has made a bold move in embracing marriage equality and the LGBTQ community in full, Nevada Democrats are now making good policy into good politics.

Oh, and by the way, no prominent Nevada Republicans were to be found at Pride last night. Is this what they mean by saying they're "silent on social issues"? Well, it's not like Mitt Romney, Dean Heller, Joe Heck, and Danny Tarkanian really have anything to be proud about when it comes to LGBTQ outreach.

And that, my friends, was Night 1 of Las Vegas Pride Weekend in the heat of the 2012 election cycle.