Houston Police Chief issues decree on Gay Pride Parade, responding to Mayor memo

HPD photo of Mayor pinning badge after McClelland confirmed

(Houston) -- A memo from Houston's mayor is leading to grumbling among some Houston Police officers.

HPD command staff received an e-mail this week from newly confirmed Chief Charles McClelland, spelling out his policy for this year's Gay Pride Parade in Houston.

His e-mail contained an attachment from his boss, Houston's first openly gay mayor,  Annise Parker.   Her memo told the chief she was "respectfully" asking that gay officers be allowed to participate in this year's Gay Pride Parade, which is set for June in the Montrose area of town.

Some officers have been venting about it this week at work, saying they wonder why such a memo was necessary when HPD officers have been participating in Houston's Gay Pride parade for years.  In recent years, a handful of uniformed officers has participated and even driven a patrol car in the parade.

In a written statement, Mayor Parker said,

This request has been made the last several years.  It is in keeping with HPD policy requiring the chief's approval for participation by uniformed officers in any parade or other event."

Chief McClelland's e-mail to his assistant chiefs and captains granted Mayor Parker's request.   His note says that officers can, indeed,  show their support and participate in the event.

However, command staff managers say the chief's memo also spells out that no officer can participate in the parade while on the clock.   They have to be off duty, or they have to burn vacation or personal time they may have accrued.      Again, that policy is consistent with past years when officers say they never saw a memo from the chief and the mayor.

Rumors have swirled in the department in recent weeks that some gay officers have been pushing to be allowed to march in the parade while on duty, on taxpayer's dime.    Those rumors have not been verified, as no formal request with a name or a paper trail has surfaced.     Either way, Chief McClelland's e-mail makes his policy clear that officers must be off duty when marching.

Supporters say marching in the Gay Pride Parade is no different than officers marching as participants in a Cinco de Mayo Parade or a Martin Luther King parade, which are also Houston fixtures.

HPD policy has long prohibited officers from participating in any political event while in uniform, and this policy is being held up by straight officers who are opposed to allowing Gay Pride participation for the men and women in blue.

One veteran officer actually told a reporter it opens the door to allowing uniformed officers to support radical political movements or even groups that advocate for things that are illegal.

Some gay rights supporters call that an ignorant notion, or typical gay-bashing from a homophobe.

Another officer told a reporter he was bothered after reading the Mayor's e-mail to the chief.   He said it was another gay-friendly policy being forced on the department by a mayor who, on the campaign trail, promised that she would not make gay rights a central issue if she were elected.

Earlier this month, Parker issued an executive order that, among other things, allows trans-gendered city employees to use the restrooms of the gender they have become.

              For more information:                         Houston Gay Pride information