Sam Adams Dumps Boston Parade Over Gay Rights

Boston's St. Patrick's Day parade has just lost a big-name sponsor over its refusal to let gay veterans march, reports the Boston Herald. Boston Beer Co.—maker of Sam Adams—announced today that it was dropping its support after talks between MassEquality and organizers of the nation's second biggest Irish parade broke down last week. “We were hopeful that both sides of this issue would be able to come to an agreement that would allow everyone, regardless of orientation, to participate in the parade," said the company. "But given the current status of the negotiations, we realize this may not be possible.” The parade is Sunday.

Earlier in the week, Sam Adams said it would continue to participate despite a growing boycott of the parade by the city's gay bars, notes Chicago Pride. But the company reversed course after a South End bar called Club Cafe announced in a Facebook post that it would stop selling Sam Adams beer “until such time as either the Parade organizers change their position, or Sam Adams removes its support of the St. Patrick Day Parade.” (More Sam Adams stories.)