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Aubrey Loots, right, and Danny Leclair, the first gay couple to be married aboard a float in the Tournament of Roses, kiss after being wed by the Rev. Alfreda Lanoix of the Unity Fellowship Church of Christ, left, aboard the AIDS Healthcare Foundation float in the 125th Rose Parade in Pasadena, Calif., Wednesday, Jan. 1, 2014. (AP Photo/Reed Saxon)
(CNSNews.com) – The two television networks – ABC and NBC – that covered the 2014 Tournament of Roses parade live on Jan. 1 are not saying why the wedding of two men atop the AIDS Healthcare Foundation’s float was not part of their programming viewed by more than 60 million people around the world.
When CNSNews.com asked whether the wedding was covered and, if not, why not, ABC’s press office said there would be no official statement about the event and cited technical issues. NBC did not respond to the questions.
ABC ran a news article about the gay wedding on Jan. 1 saying the two homosexual men were “making history.”
“One hundred twenty-five years of tradition collided with change and controversy as the Rose Parade in Pasadena, Calif., today included a gay marriage ceremony on a float,” the article stated. “The theme of the parade was ‘Dreams Come True,’ and they evidently did for Danny LeClair and Aubrey Loots.”
The local paper in Pasadena, Calif., where the parade takes place each year, posted a story online with the headline: TV Stations Cut Away From Gay Marriage During Rose Parade.”
“Did you miss the gay wedding aboard the AIDS Healthcare Foundation float during the 125th Rose Parade?” the Jan. 1 article on the Pasadena Star News website states. “You're not alone.
“Multiple TV stations cut away from the float quickly or entirely during the Wednesday morning live broadcast,” the article stated. “Many took to Twitter to express their feelings about the decision.”
Josie Huang tweeted: “Blink and you’d miss it. NBC cuts away from gay wedding float from the AIDS Healthcare Foundation before vows are exchanged.”
Alfreda Lanoix, a pastor with Unity Fellowship Church of Christ and lesbian, officiated at the ceremony.
The local paper also noted in another Jan. 1 article that the AIDS float – made to resemble a giant wedding cake with the two men as toppers -- earned the Isabella Coleman Award for the “Best Presentation of Color & Color Harmony Through Floral Use.”