GAY TRUTH

TORONTO, February 6, 2014  – As the city of Toronto prepares to host World Pride this June, the city’s mayor has stated that on principle he will not be attending. “I’m not going to go to the Pride parade ,” Mayor Rob Ford said at a candidates’ forum for the 2014 mayoral election Wednesday. Amidst catcalls, he continued: “I’ve never been to a Pride parade. I can’t change who I am.” Toronto Mayor Rob Ford While Ford has never attended a pride parade in all his years as mayor, this is the first time that he has admitted that he stays away on principle. In previous years , he has said he could not attend because of a family tradition of spending that weekend at their cottage. Councillor Shelley Carroll accused the mayor of “thinly veiled homophobia” for avoiding Pride and compared him to Russian president Vladimir Putin , calling the mayor’s refusal “an international problem.” “It’s very similar to the embarrassment that Putin is causing his nation and the international hatred towar

Image via Wikipedia Toronto Mayor Rob Ford has been slammed in the city’s media all week for his decision not to attend Sunday’s annual Pride parade and the related events. “My family comes first,” says Ford, explaining that they have a 30-year tradition of spending Canada Day weekend at their cottage in Huntsville.   “I’m carrying on a tradition my father had, last year I was there during the campaign, we’re there every year.” For the last week, there has been an unending slew of news articles, columns, and editorials in media such as the Toronto Star and Globe and Mail , all seemingly aimed at pressuring Ford to back down and show up for the parade. This morning, the Toronto Star reports that NOW Magazine has even offered to pay $4,000 for a private jet to fly him in for the parade and then back to the cottage.  “C’mon, Rob, there really is no excuse,” writes NOW editor Michael Hollett . But my question is: Why  should  he go? He has a perfectly sensible reason not to atten