Fire Law Blog Fire Service and Public Safety Legal Issues Blog by Curt Varone

Tag Archives: Gay Pride Parade

Providence Gay Pride Parade Ruling Upholds Constitutionality of the Order to Participate

A ten-year legal battle over the assignment of an engine company to participate in an annual gay-pride parade in Providence, Rhode Island has come to a close with the Rhode Island Supreme Court ruling in favor of the fire department...

RI Supreme Court Hears Arguments in Gay Pride Parade Suit

The Rhode Island Supreme Court heard the appeal of the City of Providence today in the decade long lawsuit arising out of the 2001 Gay Pride Parade. Two Providence firefighters ordered to participate in the parade filed suit claiming a violation of their First Amendment Rights and that during the course of the parade they were sexually harassed.

Curt Varone has over 45 years of fire service experience and 35 as a practicing attorney licensed in both Rhode Island and Maine. His background includes 29 years as a career firefighter in Providence (retiring as a Deputy Assistant Chief), as well as volunteer and paid on call experience. He is the author of two books: Legal Considerations for Fire and Emergency Services, (2006, 2nd ed. 2011, 3rd ed. 2014, 4th ed. 2022) and Fire Officer's Legal Handbook (2007), and is a contributing editor for Firehouse Magazine writing the Fire Law column.

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