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Boston St. Patrick’s Day Parade organizers are ending a 20-year ban on gay organizations as part of a deal brokered by Mayor Martin Walsh. Today it was announced that are inviting a group of gay military veterans to march under the MassEquality banner.

Last week, Walsh announced hat he would boycott the city’s annual parade unless it agrees to stop excluding gay and lesbian groups from its procession. The mayor, who is the son of Irish immigrants, met in his City Hall office with organizers John “Wacko” Hurley and Philip J. Wuschke Jr., and spoke about the 1995 Supreme Court case that gave the parade the right to exclude gay and lesbian groups in the first place.

He called the ban “absurd” and said that allowing gay groups to participates is “long overdue.”

Marchers from the gay-rights group would not, however, be allowed to wear clothing or hold signs that refer to sexual orientation, MassEquality Executive Director Kara Coredini said. “But, we are encouraged this conversation is happening. That is a significant step forward.”

With a little more than two weeks until the parade, negotiations continue.

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Carrie Stone