A near-record crowd of more than 500 people turned out on Saturday for the annual Cayman Pride parade.
People gathered in the car park at XQ’s restaurant on West Bay Road, for the 4.1-kilometer walk to the Bonny Moon Beach Club.
Julian Foster, a Cayman Pride committee member, said after the parade, “I think the first year, in 2021, there was maybe 600 so it’s close.
“I’m very pleased. Our goal this year was just to create a space where people could feel safe, welcome and happy and we very much exceeded that expectation.”
Passing cars hit their horns and waved as the crowd, a mix of young and old, as well different nationalities and ethnicities, started the march.
Others travelled directly to the destination to join in the after-parade party.
Inclusivity
Foster said at the end of the walk, “It’s a very inclusive event and Cayman, as a community in general, is very welcoming.”
He said the event was somewhere where people could “hang out, find friends and have a good time”.
First-time attendee Mark Smith-Brown, 28, said before the march he had decided to join in to “support and celebrate” the LGBTQ community of which he was a part.
He said after the parade reached its destination, “It was an amazing event and so much fun. I’ll definitely be here next year. I hope even more people come and support us.”
Stan Seton, originally from the UK and an auditor with financial services giant Deloitte, helped marshal the event with wife Sophie Munden.
Sexton said he and his wife both had family members who were gay, and it was good to show support.
He added, “It’s nice to represent over here and it’s a good way to meet lots of nice people as well.”
Tara Bush, another of the five-strong committee, 62, said that, even though she was in a 30-year relationship, her partner was still reluctant to be seen at a public event like Pride.
Bush added, “We have a lot of young people who are struggling with their sexual identity. They feel they don’t belong … We want people to feel they are loved, supported and just belong. I grew up in Cayman and really, it was rough. But this is not about me, it’s about inclusivity.”
She was speaking as the Privy Council prepared to issue a judgment in a case brought by lawyer Kattina Anglin, who argued that former governor Martyn Roper acted beyond his powers in enacting the Civil Partnership Act 2020.
The legislation created a legal framework for gay people to formalise their relationships short of marriage after the then Legislative Assembly – now called Parliament – failed to do so.
Acting Governor Franz Manderson, who took part in the parade, said it was “very important” that the Caymanian community had respect for everyone.
He added, “I think we would want to wait for the outcome of the court case before anything further is discussed.”
Support
Actress Ashley Crowe, based in Chicago and Los Angeles, as well as Cayman and who is married to Schmarrah McCarthy, another Cayman Pride official, said she was there because “it’s important to me as a Caymanian to be out here supporting these voices that are not heard in the community”.
She added, “It’s great to be out here celebrating love of all kinds.
“It’s a great opportunity to meet Caymanians who are the same as you, but with different ways of life.
“Love is love and I’m out here celebrating that – the love for my partner, the love for my family and my love as a Caymanian.”
Crowe added, “Many feel they are not represented, not supported by the community, although we don’t experience the violence that happens in other countries.”
Foster, who runs Heights the Agency, a marketing firm, added it was a long fight to get civil partnerships on the law books and that marriage was a logical step forward.
He said, “I think so. It’s one of these things … why limit it to certain people? People are people and everybody wants the same thing – a happy life and to feel safe in their space.”
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