Police will be allowed to march in Sydney’s Gay and Lesbian Mardis Gras, but not in uniform

By ROD McGUIRK
Associated Press

MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) — Organizers of Sydney’s Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras have agreed to relax their ban on police marching in their annual parade with a compromise condition that officers do not wear uniforms. The decision comes a day after Australian police found the bodies of a couple shot and killed by an ex-boyfriend, who happened to be a police officer. The officer has admitted to killing the couple. Wednesday’s compromise overrides the board’s previous request on Monday for police not to attend this year. Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras began in 1978 as a street protest against discrimination that was brutally broken up by police. Police participation since then has been divisive, but uniformed officers have been marching since 1998 as a gesture of respect and support.