A gay pride parade in Istanbul was violently broken up when Turkish police fired a water cannon and rubber bullets into a crowd celebrating the city's annual event, scattering the 200 revelers.
The annual parade, called by some the largest gay pride parade in the Muslim world, fell this year during the religion's holy month of Ramadan that some believe may have angered conservative Muslims,
according to The Guardian.
While homophobia is prevalent in Turkey, being gay is not against the law as it is in other Muslim-dominated countries.
A video posted by Twitter user Funda Eryiğit showed one man holding a rainbow flag before he was forced to his feet by a police water gun,
noted The Independent.
"I actually have no idea why they started attacking," Gizem Paksoy told
PinkNews.com. "No warning, nothing. They started to use water cannons. People spread around and they chased people in the streets."
Authorities told the parade attendees to disperse and that they were not allowed to march before firing the water cannon, according to Turkey's Dogan news agency.
A Dogan photographer said authorities appeared to want to prevent the parade from reaching Taksim Square, a traditional rallying place that was the site for weeks of protests that caught worldwide attention in 2013.
The parade, though, came together again a few blocks from where the police attack took place and continued with dancing and anti-homophobia chants without incident, reported The Guardian.
The parade came days after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in a bitterly divided 5-4 decision that gays had the right to marry. Gay pride parades were held in numerous cities across the country on Sunday without the clashes seen in Turkey,
according to USA Today.
"I feel people are going to go harder today because of the decision, even if it's raining," student Carina Ramirez, 21, told USA Today during the New York City gay pride parade. "Love is love no matter what."
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