By Kirsten Ott Palladino | @kirstenop
Aubrey Loots and Danny LeClair, a same-sex couple, will marry at the Rose Parade on Jan. 1, 2014. The historic wedding will take place on the AIDS Healthcare Foundation’s float. It is the first gay wedding to be held during the Rose Parade, which has more than 68 million viewers annually.
LeClair, 45, and Loots, 42, are a Los Angeles couple who have been dating for 10 years. The ceremony will promote AHF’s “Love is the Best Protection” campaign, which argues that monogamous gay marriage would result in a decline in the incidence of HIV/AIDS.
Most people will likely be thrilled for the couple, but not Karen L. Grube, a San Diego-based Tea Party activist who’s calling for a boycott of the Rose Parade and its sponsors. Her take: “For that couple, it’s a dream come true. Yes, but not for the 30 states that they’re throwing this to and not for the people who voted against it,” Grube said in an interview with ABC 10 News. Grube’s reference is to the 32 states that still don’t permit same-sex marriages, which are legal in California.
Grube has created a Facebook page to promote the boycott which has about attracted 6,245 likes as of press time. Gag. One of her latest rants on the page [inaccurate spellings are hers]:
“The traditional Tournament of Roses parade may be the victim of the most recent attack of political correctness. Two gay hairdressers have won a lottery to have their wedding on a float during the 2014 Rose Parade. The theme of this years parade is “Dreams Come True.” In this case it may be more like a nightmare for the sponsors of the parade and the organizers. If the same folks who have supported Phil Roberson’s biblical stand on marriage against A&E decide they’ll spend New Year’s morning at sunrise services instead of watching the parade, and people avoid going to the parade, that could spell the end of this tradition. They’ve already destroyed the Boy Scouts.”
The float, titled “Living the Dream: Love Is the Best Protection,” was created to celebrate victories in 2013 for the same-sex marriage movement, including Supreme Court decisions upholding the repeal of California’s Proposition 8 and striking down a key part of the Defense of Marriage Act.
Foundation spokesman Ged Kenslea said the organization supports legally sanctioning same-sex marriage because it encourages more stable relationships as well as behavior that will prevent the spread of HIV.
“We believe that marriage saves lives,” he said.
Rose Parade organizers are defending the planned wedding. In a statement, the Pasadena Tournament of Roses Assn. said it is “pleased” to have the foundation participate in this year’s event. “It is the organization’s third entry in three years tied to their mission of delivering medical services and advocacy in fighting AIDS worldwide,” the statement says. The foundation’s float will be one of the last in Wednesday’s parade.
The LeClair-Loots wedding will take place about 9:30 a.m. Leclair said he can’t wait to be “legally married to the person I’ve committed my life to and been with for the past 12 years.”
The couple is taking the high road when it comes to critics. “As far as Karen is concerned, or any of those detractors is concerned, I actually personally feel that I’m grateful that they’re willing to speak out,” LeClair told The Associated Press on Monday, as his fiance spoke up in agreement. “It’s only in hearing what others have to say that we are able to engage in a conversation, that we are able to find common ground.”
