NEW YORK – The Latest on gay pride parades nationwide (all times local):
Noon
Gov. Andrew Cuomo says New York will honor the 49 people killed in a shooting at a gay bar in Florida with a monument.
Cuomo announced the LGBT Memorial Commission on Sunday, before the start of the annual gay pride parade down Fifth Avenue in Manhattan.
The 10-member commission will come up with recommendations on the design of the memorial and the specific location by year's end.
Cuomo says the memorial will honor all victims of hate and intolerance.
He also announced that the site around the Stonewall Inn would be designated as a state historic site. On Friday, President Barack Obama designated it as the first national monument to gay rights.
A 1969 police raid on the bar was a major catalyst of the gay rights movement.
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11:10 a.m.
Onlookers have already started lining up along Fifth Avenue to get the best vantage point for New York City's famous gay pride parade.
Police were busy tightening the metal barricades to contain a crowd they say is expected to be bigger than usual this year. In addition to uniformed officers, police say a ramped up security force includes plainclothes officers mingling with observers.
Parades in San Francisco and other cities Sunday will also see increased security. There will also be tributes to the victims of this month's massacre at a gay nightclub in Florida that left 49 people dead.
Pre-parade activities included a handful of people walking down traffic-free Fifth Avenue holding banners with photos of those who died in Orlando.
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12:55 a.m.
Last year, New York City's storied gay pride parade celebrated a high point with the legalization of same-sex marriage nationwide. This year, the atmosphere surrounding the march is very different.
Parades in San Francisco and other cities Sunday will also see increased security. There will also be tributes to the victims of this month's massacre at a gay nightclub in Florida.
Celebrations planned around such themes as supporting transgender people have quickly taken on new meanings.
But organizers don't want to eliminate the exuberance of events rooted in declaring that gay people aren't afraid to be seen and heard.
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