And I have to say the response has been amazing,' he added. We will stand up to those who would try to undermine our values. 'We have extraordinary NYPD presence to make sure that this will not only be the biggest but the safest parade we've ever had,' said New York Mayor Bill de Blasio before a commemorative moment of silence. Sunday's events, along with marches in Chicago and Seattle, were marked by tributes to the 49 people killed at the Pulse gay nightclub in Orlando on June 12, which has once again inflamed calls for gun control.
Just days before the parade, President Barack Obama designated the country's first LGBT national monument at the city's Stonewall Inn, where protests erupted in 1969 following a police crackdown. New York, which prides itself on being one of the most diverse cities on the planet, is the birthplace of the US gay rights movement.