New York Mayor Bill de Blasio marches in gay pre-St. Patrick's parade

New York Mayor Bill de Blasio told hundreds of participants at a lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender-friendly St. Patrick's Day parade on Sunday that a society for all is one that embraces and respects everyone.

The St. Pat's for All parade stepped off in the borough of Queens under a heavy snowfall. It was held as an alternative to the city's centuries-old St. Patrick's Day Parade in Manhattan, which for years has excluded gay groups and this year is scheduled for March 17.

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"You are a hardy troupe," de Blasio, sporting a lavender shirt and green tie, told people gathered for the parade. "You are here to celebrate no matter what. That is what pride is all about — pride in the fact that in New York City you can be whoever you are."

De Blasio, a Democrat, refused to march in last year's Manhattan parade because it wasn't fully inclusive, and Guinness beer dropped its sponsorship. Organizers said last year, though, that they would welcome one gay contingent under its own banner this year.

The mayor said on Sunday: "A society for everyone is a society where everyone is respected, where everyone is embraced, where everyone has a say at the table."

In the past, gays were free to march in the world's biggest and oldest St. Patrick's Day Parade but not with banners saying they're LGBT. Most marching units in the parade carry identifying banners. There are about 320 units in this year's March 17 parade down Fifth Avenue, the parade committee said.

LGBT activists say the main parade organizer, the Ancient Order of Hibernians, has been under increasing pressure to allow diversity, especially after New York state passed its Marriage Equality Act in 2011, allowing marriages for same-sex couples.

The two grand marshals at the 15th annual St. Pat's for All parade were longtime human rights activist Kerry Kennedy and Tony Award-winning actor Brian O'Byrne.

Several protesters stood on the side holding signs that read "Sodom & Gomorrah."