Gun seizures, brawls, and drunkenness at Pride after parties says Chicago should consider intervening
Chicago parades have long since become more of a nuisance — maybe even a public danger — than a celebration, and increasingly the annual Gay Pride Parade is no better than the others, most especially the “after parties.” It may be time to end the event after this year's post-parade violence.
This year's Pride Parade kicked off on June 29 and, like so many other Chicago parades, the Chicago Police Department was very busy seizing guns, quelling fights, and making arrests. But even with all that, the parade itself was far less of a problem than the continued partying afterwards.
With the heavy police presence set up ahead of time, the CPD seized at least seven guns from parade goers, and arrested 39 who were engaged in fights and other violent acts, according to CWBChicago.
This year's CPD haul was a bit lower than some previous years, but it was still substantial with 13 of those arrested being charged with serious felonies. This year's arrest rate was the fifth largest with 2024's 53 arrests being the worst. Next came the 52 arrested in 2015 followed by the 46 arrests during both the 2013 and 2014 parades.
Organizers tried to take steps to put a lid on the violence as much as possible by kicking the parade off earlier and shortening the route by about two-thirds of a mile, all in an effort give rowdy parade watchers fewer opportunities to cause trouble. This year's parade lasted a quick two hours, compared to the four and five hours and more for past events.
While the extremely short run time did help prevent trouble, about the only way to fully solve the problem would be to bag the whole thing.
The felonies included providing alcohol to a minor, assault of a police officer, possession and unlawful use of guns, and assault of other parade goers. One teen was even charged with possession of a machine gun or automatic weapon, according to Fox 32.
This was all bad enough, granted, but it was the so-called "after parties" where things really went off the rails.
The violence really kicked off on the city's North Side in the hours after the Pride Parade concluded where police in the Lakeview community arrested 53, including nine juveniles.
With the paraded ending around 1 p.m., rowdy revelers filtered out to their communities to continue the ruckus. Police arrested several for climbing on top of a CTA bus to twerk and others for fighting on city buses. There were a multitude of gun charges, obstruction of traffic charges, and various levels of disorderly conduct. And 14 rose to felony charges, WLS-TV reported.
Residents were highly annoyed by the disruptions and the whole thing brought disrepute on the parade as troublemakers are creating havoc across the city.
"The parade was done, hours and hours [ago] and this was still happening the whole day, and I think they were just trying to encourage people to go home. People were just partying and it was obvious people were intoxicated and just being loud and being rambunctious there were people like doing some kind of club dancing. It was pretty wild," said Lake View resident Meredith Maiorana
Another resident, Tizok Garcia, blasted the rowdiness and added, "It was also something that I think was a detriment to what this is all about as a whole."
The violence seems to get worse every year for this event. The only thing that put a bit of a lid on it this year was the shorter route and the quick two-hour run time. But one has to wonder if cutting the event down to a mere two hours is so necessary to stop the trouble, perhaps not having it at all is an even better idea. These after-parties may end up causing the death of the parade.
America seems to be well over "gay pride," anyway. Few Americans feel being gay is so outré that loud and in-your-face parades are called for to "normalize" their sexual behavior. Being gay is just met with a shrug of the shoulders from most, anymore. And do we really need to see grown adults parading around in little to no clothes or their sexual fetish outfits to push their sexual proclivities on the children in the audience?
These parades are a vexing contradiction for the gay community. On one hand they claim we "normies" should stay out of their bedrooms and what they do in their bedrooms are none of our business anyway. And yet, they want to have massive, expensive — and often violent and dangerous — public parades to push what they do in their bedrooms in our faces.
Of course, the Pride Parade is not the only problematic event in the Windy City. Chicago's Mexican Independence Day festivities have also been the object of a massive police presence thanks to the violence and lawlessness.
In 2023, 23rd Ward Alderman Silvana Tabares blasted the unruliness and criminality among the Mexican Independence Day revelers.
"I’m Mexican. ... [But] any organized effort that just destroys public property and attacks our police officers is just wrong, and until more elected officials call it for what it is, we will continue to see more of it," Tabares told Sun-Times.
This year's Cinco de Mayo parade was even canceled. While organizers claimed it was fear of ICE raids on parade goers, this parade, too, has become a hotbed of drunkenness, violence, and arrests. Last year's parade ground to a halt as a gunfight broke out during the parade held in Little Village. The parade had to be rerouted for fear of the violence. Police arrested 27 that year.
Chicago's Saint Patrick's Day and Bud Billiken parades have also found their share of violence and police arrests. After a particularly unruly 2009 celebration, the parade’s committee determined it was in the best interest of the neighborhood to cancel the ceremony. The South Side Irish Parade returned in 2012.
The pattern is as clear as it is disconcerting. Mayor Brandon Johnson's Chicago is too immature and dangerous to continue holding these events. Perhaps it is time to just let them go for a while?
The Chicago Pride Parade was originally intended to honor the history and future of the Gay Liberation movement. Like many other cultural celebrations in Chicago, Pride has its problems, and those problems have steadily grown. For Pride to remain a critical event that celebrates the social and legal advancements of LGBTQ residents across Chicago, perhaps the time has come for parade organizers to consider further steps to tamp down on the growing disturbances associated with Pride.
Pride has several options. One alternative is to enter into negotiations with Chicago to move the parade away from the traditional route to a new location nearby or host the parade in Grant Park. While this may cause discomfort for Lake View businesses that rely on Pride, both the city and parade organizers must understand safety is the top issue. Grant Park allows for better crowd control and fewer complications involved with the removal of litter and debris left behind by participants and spectators.
Both the city and parade organizers should also consider cancelling Pride in 2026. Though this would punish the overwhelming majority of participants and spectators who play no part in the mayhem, Pride organizers could look toward the outcome of the cancellation of the South Side Irish Parade. In the 13 years since the return of the parade, the problems have been minimal and the parade has been an enjoyable experience for the neighborhood.
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