New York Post

‘Kid’ cry a drag, revelers lament

- Haley Brown and Steve Janoski

Revelers at New York City’s Pride Parade on Sunday sounded off on a controvers­ial chant by LGBTQ activists — with some saying the shouts of “We’re here! We’re queer! We’re coming for your children!” could spark more anti-gay hate.

The chant — yelled Friday at the annual Drag March in the East Village — was seen as a misguided joke by some parade attendees, who wondered whether it hurt the cause more than it helped.

“I don’t think it was the right group or the right time to make a joke (about that),” said Angela Ghiozzo, a mom from Cold Spring, NY, who went to the parade with her son, Matthew Pocarillo, who came out 12 years ago.

“They’re in danger every day,” Ghiozzo told The Post, referencin­g recent attacks on drag shows and the gay community as a whole. “They’re bullied, they’re harassed, they’re beaten, they’re killed. And that’s not the right time to make a joke. I don’t know what the purpose was, I don’t know what their mindset was. But it’s just adding fuel to the fire.”

But others were more cavalier, and dismissed the chant as a harmless jab at anti-gay activists who falsely accuse those in the LGBTQ community of being pedophiles and child “groomers.”

“It’s all in good fun,” said Kelly Autorina, a parade veteran who called herself a “huge supporter” of drag. “If you’re taking it like that, then that’s a you problem. Not an us problem.”

Still, neither the controvers­y, nor the humid, rainy weather could put a damper on the NYC Pride March’s spectacle.

Nearly 2 million rainbow-bedecked revelers of all ages flooded Manhattan streets.

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