Out of the closet at Rainbow Pride March II

CHENNAI: Call it a parade of visible empowerment, as Chennai's LGBT ( lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender) community, proudly walked the sands of Marina and celebrated the second annual Rainbow Pride on Sunday evening.

Holding their heads high, with placards reflecting their sentiments, slogans echoing their rights, about 300 walked on the Marina with some wearing a mask to protect their identity and many without.

Magdalene Jeyaratham, LGBT Rights Activist and Counsellor said, "The tangible difference from the last year's pride march and this year's is, I see a lot of people sans mask. It is a sign of openness . After the historic Delhi High Court's order, more people, now feel comfortable, have come out in the open about their sexual orientation."

Kumar, a gay, said, "I read about this event in the internet and this is the first time I am participating in such an event. I am happy to see many people like me".

Herve, a supporter of the cause from France, said: "I have participated in pride marches in New York and Paris. Chennai Pride March is amazing and the enthusiasm is great. I see a lot of openness and maturity even in the way the public behave, as the parade went about."

It is a monthlong event celebrating the visibility of alternate sexualities and gender identities through a series of events that culminated with the Sunday's Pride march. June Pride events are observed around the world to commemorate the Stonewall Inn riots of 1969, a watershed event, that sparked the global movement for civil rights by ad for LGBT people.

Aniruddhan Vasudevan, gay rights activist, said, "This Pride, We celebrate the love that was decriminalised by the historic Delhi High Court judgement. Now we call upon the Supreme Court to uphold the judgment in its entirety and secure the fundamental rights of India's lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender citizens to live with dignity, equality and free expression."