Gays march for pride and justice

Ann McGuire, a veteran gay activist and political consultant who lives in Provincetown, remembers marching in Boston's second gay pride parade in 1971. There were only about 100 marchers, she says, and being there -- out in the open -- was the point.

''There were so many people in the closet, there were no laws to protect us," she said. ''We've come a long way, but we still have a long way to go."

McGuire helped lead a Boston Pride March yesterday that attracted some 8,000 participants and 200,000 onlookers, according to figures provided by organizers of the event. A year after Massachusetts became the first state to legalize gay marriage, the theme was ''Pride in Progress . . . What's your fight?"

''We chose this theme because while it's true that gay marriage is legal in Massachusetts, the fight is not over," said Aandre Davis, a director for the Pride Committee. ''Gays are still discriminated against in the workplace, children of gay parents are discriminated against. It's still not legal in the rest of the country to get married, and AIDS is still a big issue. Until we resolve these matters, the fight is not over."

The event had a laid-back feel, as marchers -- some in leather vests, some in polo shirts, some in not very much at all -- made their way from Copley Square through the South End and on to Boylston Street in the hot weather. The parade ended with a festival on the Boston Common that lasted until evening.

As usual, there were plenty of explicit displays of sexuality -- shirtless men in skimpy underwear dancing on floats and women wearing nothing but tape over their breasts.

A trio of men protesting President Bush, wearing women's bathing suits with wigs, sent Elijah Berger, 8, scampering into his father's Berkeley Street restaurant, Laurel Grill & Bar.

''Being that it was his first pride parade, he was shocked to see men wearing women's bathing suits," said his father, Russ Berger.

A number of onlookers said the parade was less racy than in the past. Beth Niernberg, 39, of Brookline, said she did not hesitate to bring her three young children, who set up camp in front of the Hard Rock Cafe on Clarendon Street. Waitresses gave them ice water in sippy cups and allowed them to use the bathroom.

In another sign of the parade's increasing appeal to the mainstream, dozens of corporations, political campaigns, and church groups marched alongside gay activist organizations and dance club floats pumping house music.

Gay marriage remains a controversial topic in Massachusetts, as in much of the rest of the nation. The Legislature is expected to consider a constitutional amendment later this year that would ban gay marriage and allow civil unions. If it passes, the measure will go to the ballot next year.

But there was scant sign of disagreement over the issue in Boston yesterday.

The Wainwright Bank float featured a blonde drag queen wearing a beaded yellow gown on a truck decorated with marigolds, daisies, and petunias.

''I look normal every day but today," said ''Miss Michael," whose real name is Michael Theriault, of Haverhill. ''I work for a florist. But this is a ball -- the best time of the year."

For Timothy ''T. T." Baum, 35, of Boston, who wore a pink mohawk, a glittery feather boa, and sparkly jewels glued to his face, flamboyance itself was a political statement. ''If anything, the political climate of the past year has made me want to be out here even more," said Baum, who was marching with the Boston Living Center, a resource center for people with HIV/AIDS. ''I am now celebrating for those who can't speak for themselves. This is the one day that we can be out in the mainstream and feel comfortable and accepted."

Last year, Rosa Buffone, 46, of Newton, marched as a newlywed, two days after her marriage to Sandy Rice, her partner of more than 20 years.

This year, Rice cheered Buffone on as she walked with about a dozen other fellow parishioners from Our Lady Help of Christians, a Catholic church in Newton, where she is a member of the parish council.

Though Buffone was disappointed to hear Pope Benedict XVI last week call gay marriage ''pseudo-matrimony," she said she feels warmly embraced by her parish.

Other gay people, she said, ''really need to see that they don't need to walk away from their church, they need to make a stand, they need to make their voices heard," she said. ''If there's one recovering Catholic out there who is inspired by our community and calls us or e-mails us, and that helps heal that person from their estrangement or whatever pain they've experienced from the Catholic Church, then I've done my job here today."

Globe correspondent Cristina Silva contributed to this article.