Indianapolis Mayor Greg Ballard will be the Grand Marshal at this year’s Indianapolis Pride Parade. The Republican two-term incumbent says his jaw dropped when he was asked, but the group’s president says Ballard’s positions during the kerfuffle over the state’s religious objections law made him a natural choice.
Indy Pride President Chris Moore says he was impressed Ballard supported the LGBT community, despite his party affiliation. But Ballard says being a Republican is irrelevant to his stance on LGBT equality.
"We kind of all know where this is heading, and let’s just go ahead and get there together as soon as we can," Ballard says. "So, some Republicans would say, 'What are you doing?’ The other people are gonna say, ‘Thanks for doing that and kind of advancing the ball.’ So, I think we’re in a bit of a fight amongst ourselves right now."
The parade is scheduled for June 13.
