A Sad, Sad Day in Cincinnati

Rom 1:18-32 But God shows his anger from heaven against all sinful, wicked people who suppress the truth by their wickedness. 19 They know the truth about God because he has made it obvious to them. 20 For ever since the world was created, people have seen the earth and sky. Through everything God made, they can clearly see his invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature. So they have no excuse for not knowing God.21 Yes, they knew God, but they wouldn't worship him as God or even give him thanks. And they began to think up foolish ideas of what God was like. As a result, their minds became dark and confused. 22 Claiming to be wise, they instead became utter fools. 23 And instead of worshiping the glorious, ever-living God, they worshiped idols made to look like mere people and birds and animals and reptiles.
24 So God abandoned them to do whatever shameful things their hearts desired. As a result, they did vile and degrading things with each other's bodies. 25 They traded the truth about God for a lie. So they worshiped and served the things God created instead of the Creator himself, who is worthy of eternal praise! Amen. 26 That is why God abandoned them to their shameful desires. Even the women turned against the natural way to have sex and instead indulged in sex with each other. 27 And the men, instead of having normal sexual relations with women, burned with lust for each other. Men did shameful things with other men, and as a result of this sin, they suffered within themselves the penalty they deserved.28 Since they thought it foolish to acknowledge God, he abandoned them to their foolish thinking and let them do things that should never be done. 29 Their lives became full of every kind of wickedness, sin, greed, hate, envy, murder, quarreling, deception, malicious behavior, and gossip. 30 They are backstabbers, haters of God, insolent, proud, and boastful. They invent new ways of sinning, and they disobey their parents. 31 They refuse to understand, break their promises, are heartless, and have no mercy. 32 They know God's justice requires that those who do these things deserve to die, yet they do them anyway. Worse yet, they encourage others to do them, too.

Equinox Cincinnati gay pride parade's move Downtown draws positive reviews
By Kimball Perry • kperry@enquirer.com • July 4, 2010

There were floats and scooters, skateboards and balloons - and drag queens.

Sunday's Equinox Cincinnati Pride 2010 parade ended at Fountain Square, the Queen City's symbolic meeting place, in a move several observers believe signaled a greater acceptance for the gay community.


Before this year, the parade was held in Northside, a Cincinnati neighborhood with a significant gay population.

"I think this was a larger turnout," said Danny Coscia, 45, of Richmond, Ky., who lived in this area for years and is a longtime parade attendee.

He applauded the parade move Downtown to accommodate the larger crowd - and for the message it sends.

"Things change. Back then, it was a dirty little secret they hid in Northside," Coscia said of the gay pride parade.

Adam Theele, 31, of Hamilton also has been to several parades and prefers the Downtown event.

"In Northside, it was like we were hiding," Theele said. "I always wondered why they had it in Northside. All the other (community) events are Downtown."

Under a blazing sun, an estimated 3,000 people lined the six blocks of Fifth Street from Sentinel to Race Street. They came to celebrate freedom and independence, for their country and their lifestyle.

"This was something fun to do to support the cause," said Marcia Yager, 54, of Sycamore Township. "We're such a conservative town, we need to do something to come together."

Katie Ambrogi, 31, of Blue Ash watched the 40-minute parade with her husband and three children.

"We just like equality for everybody. Let the kids see that there are differences. People are the same," Ambrogi said.

How did the kids respond to seeing men in huge hair, high heels and flamboyant dresses or the shirtless elves on a Christmas float in 90-degree temperature with an elf singing "Walking in a Winter Wonderland"?

"They're beautiful people and kids should see that," Ambrogi said with a smile.

The crowd made a lot of noise, blowing whistles, clapping and cheering for their favorite float or participant.

Lesbian Moms and Allies drew a particularly loud cheer when they zoomed by with kids in tow - in strollers, on bikes, scooters and skateboards.

The parade was kicked off by the first participant, Cincinnati Mayor Mark Mallory, and included several other politicians.

"It needed more music, crowd, fuss - lively," said Rob Thompson, 49. "There were great drag queens and pretty good floats."

The parade was the highlight of the festival that kicked off Friday. After the parade, there was music, beer and food on Fountain Square, which also was the venue for the event's closing fireworks show Sunday night.