Expect floats more spectacular, marchers more vocal and a crowd more willing to support Cincinnati's gay and lesbian community at Sunday's Gay Pride Parade.

        Up to 4,000 people will line Ludlow Avenue as the parade leaves Burnet Woods Park in Clifton at noon and ends at Hoffner Park in Northside, organizers predicted. The crowd should be double that at last year's parade, which was the first in five years, organizers said.

        The 1993 passage of Issue 3 — a city charter amendment that banned Cincinnati from providing “protected status or preferential treatment” to people of homosexual, lesbian or bisexual orientation — inspired the hiatus.

        The parade's increase in popularity is just another sign that homosexuality is becoming more acceptable throughout Cincinnati and the nation, say local gays and lesbians. “It's a big festival,” said Doreen Cudnik, director of Stonewall Cincinnati, the city's leading gay rights group now starting work to repeal Issue 3. “When we are visible as a gay and lesbian people, it helps shift attitude. As people, friends, neighbors and co-workers, we've been able to change hearts and minds.”

GAY PRIDE PARADE

• What: Gay Pride Parade. About 4,000 people are expected to support Cincinnati's gay and lesbian community.     • When: 11 a.m. Sunday rally at Burnet Woods Gazebo; noon Sunday parade.     • Where: The parade will start at Burnet Woods Park gazebo in Clifton, travel down Ludlow Avenue, and conclude at Hoffner Park in Northside. A music festival will follow. Features about 40 vendors and information booths.

CONFERENCE

• What: Love Won Out. A Christian conference stressing that homosexuality is preventable and treatable.     • When: 8 a.m.-5:30 p.m. today.     • Where: Tri-County Assembly of God Church, 7350 Dixie Highway, Fairfield. (513) 874-8575.     • Sponsors: Focus on the Family, a Christian ministry based in Colorado Springs, Col.

        According to a Gallup poll released this week, more than half the nation — 52 percent — accepts homosexuality as an alternative lifestyle, compared with 38 percent in 1992.

        Fifty-four percent believe homosexual relations should be legal, compared with 43 percent in 1977, and more people than ever before are open to gays and lesbians working in various professions.

        The margin of error of the poll, conducted May 10-14 by phone with 1,012 randomly selected adults nationwide, was plus or minus 3 percentage points.

        “The increased acceptance is slight, but it's still encouraging. It's not a dramatic hike, but it's steady,” Ms. Cudnik said.

        But today, the day before the parade, a Fairfield church hosts a daylong conference that contends that homosexuality is preventable and treatable.

        Focus on the Family, a Colorado Christian group, is organizing the conference, “Love Won Out,” at Tri-County Assembly of God Church. It features a former gay activist and others who will speak on the clinical development of homosexuality, the relationship between homosexuality and genetics, and responding to the gay community in love and truth.

        Ms. Cudnik said she expects about 30 clergy members, mental health professionals, gays and lesbians, and members of P-FLAG (Parents and Friends of Lesbians and Gays) for a protest outside the church during the conference.

        “It may be time for those conservatives to look at this Gallup poll and realize they're out of step with mainstream America,” Ms. Cudnik said. “What used to work in Cincinnati may not work anymore.”

        Lawyer Jack Harrison, 45, agreed that Cincinnati's gay and lesbian community is gaining greater acceptance. He and his partner, Paul Brownell, married last year.

        Same-sex marriages are not recognized as legal by any state. But there were several churches that would have married Mr. Harrison and Mr. Brownell. The couple chose Mount Auburn Presbyterian Church, where they are members and a third of the congregation is homosexual.

        Despite increased tolerance, the couple accepts that there's always the possibility that a stranger will comment as they walk by.

        “There are always going to be stupid people who are going to ... use inflammatory and negative language about groups of people. I don't think anyone would argue that that reflects society as a whole,” Mr. Harrison said.

        Ken Colegrove, a Gay Pride Parade committee member, said Cincinnati's growing acceptance of homosexuals is evident in the number of rainbow flags on homes and businesses. They symbolize gay pride.

        He and other gays and lesbians mentioned more evidence of acceptance, including the popularity of Will & Grace, a TV sitcom; Delta Air Lines' decision to offer health care and insurance benefits to its employees' same-sex partners in July; and the Catholic Archdiocese of Cincinnati's new ministry that's considered a national model for its support of gays, their families and friends.

        Mr. Colegrove concedes that change happens slowly.

        “There's no dividing line. There's just gradual steps,” he said. The parade “is something that the community needs, so that they can feel good about themselves as gay and lesbian individuals.”

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