Source: Boston Globe, WBZ-TV
As the Governor's family marched together down Beacon Street past the State House to City Hall Plaza, they were greeted with a outpouring of cheers. They paused at the end of the parade to speak with well-wishers and pose for photos, the Boston Globe reports.

It's the second time that the Patricks have marched in the parade, but it's the first time that Governor Deval Patrick's 18-year-old daughter, Katherine, marched after publicly announcing she is a lesbian.

Patrick became the first governor in the state's history to march in the parade last year. This year, he arrived late after attending a funeral for a Taunton soldier killed in Iraq and joined his family on Beacon Street, near the end of the route, WBZ-TV reports.

As reporters watched at the parade's end, he hugged and kissed his wife Diane, daughter Sarah, and oldest daughter Katherine, who revealed she's gay in an interview published Thursday in the Bay Windows newspaper.

The Patricks say they're proud of their daughter and support gay marriage.

"I think it's great for parents to support their children," said Gov. Patrick said. "It's not an issue of politics, it's an issue of human rights."

The Patricks marched with friends in front of a group from the AIDS Action Committee and behind a float carrying male dancers clad in bikini bottoms.

Thousands lined the parade route, which began in the South End and included all manner of gay pride groups, from car clubs, to softball teams, to union workers, WBZ reports.

Holding his 6-month-old son firmly against his chest, Andrew Liteplo, 34, praised Patrick and his wife, Diane, for their unconditional support of their daughter.

"I'd almost be surprised if he weren't supportive," he told a Globe reporter. "She's his daughter."

Liteplo pointed out the festive floats to his son, the roaring motorcycles, and the bead-wearing marchers that passed by. Glancing down, he smiled as little Nicholas soaked up all the sights and sounds.

Alongside the tens of thousands who lined Boston's streets for yesterday's annual Gay Pride parade, the father and son stood quietly amid the carnival-like atmosphere, a ringing celebration that felt more like a carefree party than a political statement.

What only a few years ago might have been seen as a watershed moment, is now viewed as a natural parental response, many said.

Liteplo told the Globe's Peter Schworm that, given the growing acceptance of gays and lesbians, most people expected nothing less of the governor and his wife.

"I think she's represents a generation of us out there, and to see her parents supporting her in such a public way, I think that allows all of our parents the permission to do the same," Hannah Karpman, 29, of Boston, told WBZ-TV.

Many parade-goers said they were touched by Katherine Patrick's courage and by her parents' unreserved acceptance of their daughter's revelation, which the parade-goers said lent a personal resonance to Patrick's fight to keep gay marriage legal.

"It proves he not only stands for something publicly, he exemplifies it in his own life," said Lexi LaGuerre, a 30-year-old woman from Boston who watched the parade on Tremont Street in the South End with her grandmother. "I wouldn't say most parents would react this way, so it's a wonderful thing. Nobody wants their parents not to love them."

LaGuerre told the Globe that many of her friends had come out in the past few years, often to their parents' deep disappointment.

Ted Higginson of Berkley told WBZ, "I think this is turning the world around. What a breath of fresh air. We need that."

Many parade-goers told the Globe that they were inspired by Patrick's unqualified support, even as they expressed confidence that such experiences are increasingly the norm.

"It's fabulous,"  Wanic Polynice, 35, told the Globe. He was watching the parade arm in arm with his boyfriend, Sebastian Doremus, 32. "It's wonderful to see a father love his daughter like that. It's beautiful."

Kenneth Bennett, 71-year-old funeral director, commended Katherine Patrick for coming to terms with her identity and having the courage to declare her sexuality publicly.

"It was very gutsy of her, at such a young age," he said. Part of him, he told the Globe, is still in the closet, and his parents, who died years ago, would not have understood. For gays and lesbians who have experienced parental disapproval, or worse, Patrick's love for his daughter is deeply moving, he said.

But for most of the crowd, the debate over the Patrick family was secondary, the Globe reports. Along Tremont Street, people sipped mimosas in sidewalk cafes, danced to "We Are Family" and Madonna's "Express Yourself," and cheered the most outlandish outfits. They roared over the revving engines of the "Moving Violations Motorcycle Club," waved at young children in colorful hats, and clapped for marchers carrying signs that read "Unconditional Love for our Sons and Daughters."

Full article: Patrick gets cheers at gay pride event | Boston Globe
Patricks March In Boston's Gay Pride Parade | WBZ-TV