Date: Mon, 20 Apr 1998 12:28:23 -0700 From: Eros Publishing Subject: Press Release Press Release Unofficial Pride Page 4/18/98 Currently two groups with valid applications vie to put on the G/L/B/T Pride Event in Seattle in 1998 before the City of Seattle Special Events Committee (the group that allocates Parade/Park/Fire permits for such events and coordinates City involvement), Pacific Northwest Pride and the Freedom Day Committee. A great deal of biased information has been generated - below are the facts as I understand them. * There have been a minimum of THREE separate groups in Seattle Pride History known as the "Freedom Day Committee", more if you count the years they dissolved and reformed annually as separate groups. The current group known as "Freedom Day Committee is less than one year old, but has a few folks from previous incarnations of "FDC" involved. * No permits have been issued at this time to any group, however, the city's historic process is to print the permits and give them to whatever group has met with the Special Events Committee and met the requirements that committee sets forth. Pacific Northwest Pride has done that, however the city has stated it needed to "review" their application in light of the "FDC's" application. * Both PNWP and FDC meetings are open to the Public. Both groups are inclusive and support diversity. Both are on record as opposing Initiative 200. * Neither group, as of this posting is remotely interested in compromise or in engaging in communication (other than through their attorneys) with the other group. * The city has thus far declined to decide between the two groups. Those points established, Pride is at this point endangered by the conduct of these two organizations. Should no compromise occur between the two groups, or be imposed by the community, the City of Seattle will be presented with three unpleasant choices - 1) Choose a group and be loudly vilified by the unchosen group and its partisans. Possible legal action. 2) Refuse to grant either group permits and actively prevent crowd from gathering/marching on Pride Day through liberal use of the Seattle Police. 3) Refuse to grant either group permits and turn a blind eye to whatever happens on Pride Day. Options Two and Three revolve around "what happens if folks just show up sans organization". Pride in recent years involves 80,000 (plus) folks showing up, a bunch of vehicles (from tricycles to articulated buses), and coordinating street closures, police presence, Metro Routes (that cross the Parade Route), and Fire/Emergency/Hospital Access. If the city grants no permits, the streets will not be closed and Metro will cross the route as usual. Cars will remain parked along both sides of Broadway and in the "Assembly Area". Normal traffic will continue to drive through both the Assembly area and the route. If into this "normal Broadway/Pike/Pine corridor" we then drop our undirected crowd (reduced by controversy) of 60,000 or so...we achieve a solid traffic jam on Broadway, Pike, and Pine bleeding across Madison and blocking Pike and Pine as far east as 15th. What bad things does this cause? 1) Increased risk of injury as ordinary drivers try and make their way through pedestrian/driver mess in the area. 2) Fire Station at Pine and 13th blocked in. Fire and Aid Vehicles unable to depart in a timely fashion or cross Broadway. 3) Police Precinct at 12th and Pine blocked in. Again, emergency access obstructed. 4) East-West Emergency access blocked, generally. 5) Access to hospitals (Swedish, Harborview, Etc) substantially impaired from the north. 6) Assuming a March, a much longer event (5-6hrs min). 7) Empty Park, no vendors or entertainment. The city will mainly be concerned by issues 1-5, I suspect. And since turning a blind eye on Pride Day is likely to result in 1-5 becoming a reality, option 2 becomes the most likely if the City issues no permits - active intervention to prevent a "random-motion march". Details/History at: http://home.sprynet.com/sprynet/Ray_Carter/ ray_carter@sprynet.com PNWP Contact: Pacific Northwest Pride 1122 East Pike Street, Suite 678 Seattle, WA 98122 Phone: 206-346-0339 Meeting Weekly at the Four Angels Cafe 6pm, Sundays email: pnwp@hotmail.com FDC Contact: Freedom Day Committee 1122 E Pike Suite 969 Seattle WA 98122 (206)292-1035. Meeting Weekly at Seattle Central Community College, Portable B-108 6pm, Sundays e-mail: fdcseattle@aol.com City of Seattle: Virginia Swanson, Chair Special Events Committee virginia.swanson@ci.seattle.wa.us http://www.wolfenet.com/~aubrey/cage/aubrey.htm