NYC Pride March 2026: A Look Back
New York City Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch was seen observing the Pride march from the sidelines on Sunday. This comes after her earlier condemnation of the decision to exclude LGBTQ officers from marching in uniform.
This year’s parade drew around 75,000 participants, who marched down Fifth Avenue, along Eighth Avenue, and past the historic Stonewall Inn. The Stonewall Inn was the site of a violent police raid in 1969, which is often credited with igniting the gay rights movement.
Notably, no active NYPD officers have participated in the march since 2021. That was the first year the organizers, Heritage of Pride, banned uniformed law enforcement from marching, citing increased tensions following the George Floyd protests.
Members of the Gay Police Action Alliance opted out of the event because NYPD rules require armed officers to be in uniform.
This year, Tisch was spotted behind metal barricades alongside a number of officers who were protesting the ban on uniformed presence. The officers held signs that stated, “Gay cops will not be excluded from Pride” and “Pride march: recognize one.”
Earlier this month, Tisch had spoken against the prohibition of LGBTQ police officers from carrying firearms during the Manhattan Pride march. She attended the Queens Pride parade, where armed officers were allowed to participate. She commented on the organizers of the June 7 Queens march by saying, “We have once again banned NYPD officers from marching in uniform.”
Many found this contradiction particularly frustrating, as Tisch described the decision as “hypocritical and a slap in the face to the NYPD and the spirit of pride.”
This year’s Pride theme, “For All of Us,” was particularly poignant. It featured Gays Against Guns, an activist group, among the notable marchers. Kathy Marino Thomas, 65, a member of Gays Against Guns, highlighted that the gun ban was influenced by the lingering trauma from the Pulse nightclub shooting in 2016.
As part of the memorials, marchers staged a “die-in” in front of the Stonewall Inn to honor the 49 victims of the Pulse tragedy a decade ago. Thomas noted, “They can’t march in Pride anymore, so they’re taking time out of their celebration to hold space for those we’ve lost.”
Participants from Gays Against Guns wore white and covered their faces, holding photographs of the Pulse victims alongside one of anti-ICE activist Renee Good, who was killed by law enforcement in Minneapolis earlier this year.
Several prominent figures were present at the march, including Mayor Zoran Mamdani, Governor Kathy Hochul, and Senator Chuck Schumer. Jumaane Williams, along with Democratic House candidate Brad Lander, posed for pictures with Tisch.
Among the many attendees were celebrities like Grand Marshal Bowen Yang and comedian Megan Stalter..
The 2026 theme, “For All of Us,” derives from Marsha P. Johnson, a veteran of the Stonewall uprising and a significant figure in LGBTQ activism. Johnson’s complete quote reminds us that “Without liberation for all of us, there can be no pride for any of us.”
