[URBAN NOTE] "First Pride march in Steinbach, Manitoba draws thousands"

[rfmcdonald]

The Globe and Mail carries James Turner's Canadian Press report.

A former member of a religious colony told the first Pride parade ever held in this small Manitoba city how important it is for gay people to speak up and share their stories.

“I expose my life so that others can know that they are not alone they too deserve a happy, fulfilling life,” said Tyrone Hofer before a cheering crowd.

Hofer, a former member of a conservative colony of Hutterian Brethren, said he wished he’d had someone to talk to as he was growing up and struggling with his sexual identity. That’s why, he said, he and other openly gay Hutterites are now speaking publicly.

“Instead of asking yourself, ‘what would Jesus do?,’ ask yourself, ‘what did Jesus do?’ ” he said.

RCMP estimated 3,000 people attended the Pride march, far higher than the anticipated 1,000. Police had to open a second street to accommodate everyone.

The city’s population is roughly 14,000.