Philly's 60-member chapter, which started last year, was offered the opportunity to act as the parade's Grand Marshal - a coveted position that honors LGBT community leaders.īut an activist group argued that police were not representative of the community, and threatened to 'shut down' the parade. Mason, who is transgender, is the president of the Philadelphia chapter of the Gay Officer Action League (GOAL), a national organization that represents LGBTQ men and women in blue. The officers felt vindicated, especially because just a few weeks before they were told they weren't welcome to lead the parade.īut the admiration, as welcome as it was, grew out of tragedy: the mass shooting that left 49 dead and 53 wounded at a gay club in Orlando. When Officer Jo Mason and his fellow LGBTQ cops marched down Market Street during Philly's Gay Pride Parade on June 12, they were cheered by thousands of parade-goers and offered high-fives by people lining the sidewalks.
