The New York Times - June 27, 1983
Douglas C. McGill

Among the tens of thousands of marchers were groups called Parents of Lesbians and Gays, Gay Teachers and Gay Psychologists. A homosexual running group, hiking group and softball team also marched, as did homosexual alumni from Harvard, Yale, Cornell and other colleges.

The New York City Gay Men's Chorus marched and sang, and a band called the Lesbian and Gay Big Apple Corps was led by a male batontwirler whose twirling expertise impressed the crowd. The parade was followed by a rally in the West Village at which several speakers talked on the theme "diversity is our strength, liberation is our fight."

The parade was organized by the Christopher Street Liberation Day Committee, whose members said it was dedicated "to AIDS victims everywhere." 'Fighting For Our Lives'

AIDS, acquired immune deficiency syndrome, blocks the body's immunological system and leaves it open to infection. Of 1,641 cases of the ailment reported in the United States, the disease has killed 644 of its victims. New York City has reported 45 percent of all cases. Seventy-one percent of the victims of AIDS are said to be homosexual or bisexual men.

A number of people who said they had AIDS marched behind a banner reading "Fighting for our lives." One of the marchers, Art Felson, said: "The parade symbolizes people getting better. It symbolizes our energy, our determination to overcome illness and to educate the community."

All along the route, from 64th Street on Central Park West to Fifth Avenue and south to Greenwich Village, the groups were greeted by crowds of New Yorkers and tourists, some of them clapping and others shaking their heads.

The marchers' dress was colorful and summery and geared to the balmy, nearly cloudless day. There was an atmosphere of jubilation. Homosexual couples walked arm in arm, smiling and waving to the crowd. Encounter at Cathedral

Near St. Patrick's Cathedral on Fifth Avenue, however, a group of people opposed to homosexuality held up signs as the marchers passed. At times, the marchers and the protesters yelled at each other over police barricades. At one point, in response to a homosexual group shouting, "God loves gays," some protesters replied, "Down with sinners in the name of Jesus."

Last month, a coalition of Catholic groups, including the Ancient Order of Hibernians and the Committee for the Defense of St. Patrick's, asked that a Catholic homosexual group in the parade be restrained from standing on the cathedral steps, as they have in previous years. On Thursday, the police barred the cathedral steps to both protesters and marchers.

Away from the protest near St. Patrick's, however, the crowd's prevailing spirit seemed to be enjoyment, and sometimes fascination, with the march.

"It is marvelous," said Carlo Levec, who was visiting New York from Paris. "This is democracy." The parade marked the day in 1969 that many homosexuals view as the beginning of their activism for rights. It was on that day that the police raided a homosexual bar in Greenwich Village and the patrons and the police clashed.

Meanwhile, in San Francisco, the police estimated that about 200,000 people attended the 13th annual Gay Freedom Day Parade yesterday. The parade also was dedicated to AIDS victims.

In Chicago, thousands of people lined the streets on the North Side lakefront for the city's Gay and Lesbian Parade, led by former Mayor Jane Byrne.

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