Montgomery Pride 2017 Takes on Dexter Avenue

Pride marchers lay their flag across the Capitol Steps.

Montgomery Pride took over the streets downtown for the second annual Montgomery Pride Parade.

LGBTQ marchers started the event at Club 322 on Sunday morning, then marched up Lawrence Street heading to Dexter Avenue. On Dexter, they stopped and chanted for a moment at the Supreme Court Building before making their way to the Capitol Steps for the rally. Several guest speakers were at the steps and addressed many of the issues LGBTQ groups face across the country.

The marchers were met there by a small group of men who disagreed with their beliefs. They didn’t call themselves protesters, but said they were “proclaimers” who were  there to “proclaim the good news of Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior.” They said they were not spreading hate, but love instead.

“There’s no hate here,” said Reggie McDonald, one of the men who disagrees with the marchers. “It is a proclamation of the word of Jesus Christ. We all hate Christ at one point in our life. We want them to see what we have seen, and that is love through Christ. Only through repentance.”

Love seems to be one of the things the two groups have in common, even though their messages are different.

“We’re here to celebrate the uniqueness of the diversity of our LGBT community in Montgomery and the state of Alabama,” said the event’s EmCee, Ambrosia Starling. Starling is an entertainer who has become a figure head of the gay rights movement in Alabama.

“It’s important because people need to know that there’s nothing that stops you from loving you except yourself,” she added. “And to encourage those people who might not love themselves enough to do so. That it’s okay to be who you are.”

The marchers were at the Capitol Steps from 11 AM to 1 PM, then they headed back to Club 322 for a party. That party was scheduled to last until 8 PM Sunday night.