Yesterday we erroneously reported that America’s favorite baseball bat wielding lawyer Gloria Allred would be defending a gay LAPD cop because of the LAPD’s forbidding him to march in a West Hollywood Pride parade. Turns out he’s a Corrections Officer named Andrew Johnson who has worked at the California Institution for Women in Chino since 2006. And only a short while after Allred held her press conference on the matter, the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation reversed their decision—Allred didn’t even have to bust out the Louisville Slugger.
Warden Garcia quoted the part of the CDCR operation manual that prevents officers from wearing the police uniform while engaging in “inappropriate” activities that would “discredit” the department.
Inappropriate activities like exercising your right to free speech in a public march for equal rights? Justice is a dish best served… ironically.
Less than 24-hours after Allred’s press conference about the matter, the CDCR reversed Garcia’s decision and allowed officer Johnson to march:
How about we take this to the next level?
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In a statement, the CDCR said it “did not intend to offend any segment of the population” and acknowledges that its operation manual was “outdated and requires careful revision.”
The CDCR went on to say it “embraces the diversity of the people of California” and that it understands its “responsibility to ensure that its officers and staff treat all Californians equally and encourages cultural awareness of the many facets of our state’s society.”
If gay men didn’t have the right to queen out in police uniform, then we never would have had the Village People. And that would be a major loss to gay men, disco queens, and YMCAs everywhere.
Mike in Asheville
I, for one, certainly do not rely on Queerty to accurately report news — they can’t even spell and grammar check.
Note to Queerty: you can’t rely on TMZ to accurately report news either; like Queerty, TMZ is not news, its entertainment, full of opinions and agenda.
Mike in Asheville
Oops, forgot to also say, Queerty, like TMZ, are both VERY snarky … part of the love and the hate.
christopher di spirito
Good on Corrections Officer Andrew Johnson. Too bad Queerty used a picture of the Village People and not Andrew Johnson. He’s a handsome man.