San Diego Firemen in Court Over Pride Parade Trauma

Four San Diego firemen who say the suffered emotional distress because they were ordered to ride in a gay pride parade are now having their day in court.

The trial, which began Sept. 15, focuses on whether the firefighters' having been ordered to participate was a violation of state law.

In the wake of the four men's complaint, fire department policy has been changed so that no one has to attend or participate in the parade, which is the largest such annual event in the city, bringing in a crowd of 100,000.

The court heard testimony this week from Tracy Jarman, the fire chief, as well as from Assistant Chief Jeff Carle, who ordered the four men to ride in the parade, according to a story that appeared Sept. 19 in the San Diego Union-Tribune.

Carle had ordered that the men ride in the parade as a desperate measure when the firefighters who had previously volunteered to appear canceled their participation.

The fire department participates in a number of parades in the city every year. The gay pride parade often coincides, several witnesses said, with firefighters calling in sick and missing work. This is not the first occasion on which firefighters have been required to ride in the parade as late replacements for others who had not been available for the day despite earlier commitments.

Carle said of his order, "I was faced with not having an engine in the pride parade."

Said Carle, "I didn't think it would be proper to be absent in that parade when we're present in almost every other one."

Carle did not wish for the fire department to have to pull out of the parade at the last minute, so he assigned four firefighters, Chad Allison, John Ghiotto, Jason Hewitt, and Alex Kane, to ride in the fire truck as part of the procession.

When he was informed that the men were reluctant and would only ride in the parade if they were ordered to do so, Carle issued that order.

The four men later requested counseling, saying that they had suffered emotional distress due to being the object of catcalls from men in the crowd.

They also said they had been distressed by the sight of men wearing only their underwear and pantomiming sexual acts, as well as making suggestive gestures and calling out with sexually provocative comments, the article reported.

The type of counseling the men requested is typically provided when firefighters have faced on-the-job crises such as a fatality involving a colleague, or other highly stressful incident, the article said.

A couple of weeks after the parade, the four hired a lawyer and filed a complaint against the city.

Following the filing of the complaint, the men said, they were subjected to mistreatment on the job.

Jarman testified that she had no knowledge of Carle's order until she spoke with the firefighters before the parade. Jarman said that the men were "grumpy and unhappy" before the parade began.

Jarman and Carle testified that they had marched in the parade in 2006, and that they did not feel emotionally distressed as a result. But they also said that they could see how the parade would be upsetting to some people, the article said.

The attorney engaged by the firefighters, Charles LiMandri, asked Jarman whether the catcalls and comments heard by the firefighters could be construed as sexual harassment.

Jarman said yes, they could, under the guidelines of the fire department's policies.

At the men's next day on duty, they met with Carle and asked that a policy be put in place to prevent unwilling firefighters from being required to ride in the pride parade.

Another meeting also took place, within the following two weeks, at which time the four met with Carle, Assistant Fire Chief Javier Mainer, and Jarman, the article said.

At that meeting, according to Carle's testimony, Mainar told the four that if it had been women making sexually suggestive remarks and gestures, the men would not have claimed to be upset.

Jarman said that at that meeting, she personally gave the men the assurance that no reluctant firemen would subsequently be ordered to ride in a gay pride parade.

The article said that Jarman and the firefighters' union had agreed on a policy that only volunteers will ride in any parade; the policy came into effect earlier this summer.

The firefighters hired their attorney and filed a complaint against the city the day following that meeting, the article said.

The trial is expected to continue for another two weeks.

Commenting on the story on Sept. 19, Jason Kuznicki at Positive Liberty opined that firefighters ought not to ride in parades at all; wrote Kuznicki, "And they say they were sexually harassed? Well, duh. Of course they were.

"Firefighters are a sex symbol, in case you haven't noticed."

Added Kuznicki, "Gay pride parades long ago stopped being about equal rights (and even if they were, forcing government employees into a political stance is pretty bad in itself).

"Now they're just big bacchanalian street parties, like Mardi Gras, but a whole lot gayer."

Continued Kuznicki, "As a gay man, I'm completely on the side of the firefighters here."

Added Kuznicki, "Spare me the fake outrage. They should never have been forced to go."