Fridae

At New York City's 32nd annual gay pride parade, three dozen gay couples celebrated their same-sex partnerships. While the marriage ceremonies were not legally binding, they served as a rallying point for activists who would like to see same-sex couples accorded the same legal rights as heterosexual couples.

The flamboyant parade included costumes and floats, dykes on bikes and a convertible carrying veterans of the Stonewall riots. The veterans were among those who fought back against a police raid at a Greenwich Village bar in 1969.

The parade marking the event has drawn hundreds of thousands of participants and spectators over the decades and has inspired gay communities throughout the world to stage their own celebrations.

In San Francisco, hundreds of thousands of gays, lesbians, bisexuals and transsexuals gathered to commemorate that city's 31st Annual Pride Parade and Celebration, which is the state's largest public event.

Over in Canada, as many as 800,000 people flooded Toronto's downtown on Sunday for the city's annual gay pride parade. The parade procession included Federal Health Minister Alan Rock and Toronto Mayor Mel Lastman as well as drag queens decked out in glitter and platform-shoes and other glamboyantly dressed participants.

While in Europe, Paris and Berlin who have openly gay mayors, celebrated gay pride on Saturday with rollick parades.