Divided SLO County Board of Supervisors declares June as Pride month
Pride Month is in full swing in San Luis Obispo County, featuring festivals, drag shows and rainbow flags — all to celebrate the LGBTQ+ community and protest ongoing anti-queer violence.
The San Luis Obispo County Board of Supervisors, however, was divided over officially declaring June as Pride Month in the county.
The board ultimately voted 3-2 on Tuesday to make the declaration, with Supervisors Debbie Arnold and John Peschong dissenting.
The proclamation acknowledges that the Pride movement started “as a protest against profiling and violence” that targets the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer community.
“LGBTQ+ people have historically struggled to find others like themselves in media and the public, and Pride serves as a crucial time of visibility and community,” the proclamation read. “Recognition from one’s government is crucial for feeling safe in one’s community.”
At the meeting, Gala Pride and Diversity Center content curator Lola White-Sanborn said members of the LGBTQ+ community still experience harassment in SLO County, and it is crucial for the board to address it.
“Fostering an inclusive environment requires openly acknowledging what bigotry exists, not pretending that everything’s fine now,” she said.
Supervisors divided over whether to approve Pride Month proclamation
Supervisors Bruce Gibson, Dawn Ortiz-Legg and Jimmy Paulding supported the proclamation, saying they were committed to combating prejudice against the LGBTQ+ community.
“We have a lot of work to do here,” Ortiz-Legg said. “I know that we — overall in this room — really look toward finding the common good and the ability to work together.”
Arnold, however, said the proclamation had a “divisive feeling.” She preferred a county-wide statement of support that applies to all residents, rather than a targeted statement of support for the LGBTQ+ community, she said.
“Identity politics has been around forever, and it does tend to separate folks into different groups and often promote victimhood,” Arnold said. “I don’t think that’s the way to go.”
“We have become a much more inclusive society just by being good friends, neighbors and community members,” she added.
In particular, Arnold noted that the board had already passed a resolution last week denouncing racism, bigotry and hate speech, while pledging to support all marginalized communities in the county.
Arnold said support for the LGBTQ+ community was included in that resolution, so there’s no need to pass another more specific resolution for Pride Month.
“We got it all pretty much covered right there,” Arnold said. “We’re all Americans, we stand under the American flag as Americans. ... I think we need to stop splitting ourselves into particular groups.”
Gala Pride and Diversity Center executive director Dusty Colyer-Worth, however, said it’s critical to acknowledge the county’s history of prejudice against the LGBTQ+ community and actively commit to battling such discrimination.
“I know that it can be easy to look at it as identity politics to call out a specific group, but it’s also a point of privilege to be able to say that,” Colyer-Worth said. “It is not the experience of LGBTQ+ people to be protected under blanket statements.”
Gibson agreed.
“Those who would oppose this expression of tolerance and respect for our fellow community members are either unaware of history or willfully ignorant of the history,” he said.
Peschong did not comment on the proclamation during the meeting, but he told the Tribune during a break that he supports Arnold’s statement.
When Gibson, Ortiz-Legg and Paulding presented the proclamation to two members of the Gala Pride and Diversity Center, Arnold and Peschong stood to the side of the room.
Community weighs in on Pride Month declaration
Stacy Korsgaden, who unsuccessfully ran for a seat on the Board of Supervisors in 2020 and 2022, lives in Grover Beach with her wife. She urged the board to reject the resolution, calling it “outdated.”
She said the LGBTQ+ community has made “tremendous progress towards acceptance in society as a whole.”
Instead of passing this resolution, Korsgaden asked the board to pass policies that improve public safety, job growth and housing production — all actions that would improve the lives of everyone in the county, including members of the LGBTQ+ community.
“Don’t take us back to the past,” Korsgaden said. “Lead us to the future where our government represents all of us, uniting us under one flag, one rule of law — united in the commitment to have a safe and prosperous San Luis Obispo County.”
White-Sanborn, speaking in support of the proclamation, said she is regularly harassed for being queer in San Luis Obispo County.
“On a number of occasions, as near as Santa Rosa Street and Marsh Street right behind us, trucks have attempted to run me over,” White-Sanborn said. “It is therefore difficult for me to believe that anyone who would seek to oppose such a proclamation has any goal other than exclusion.”
According to White-Sanborn, legislation is being introduced at state and federal levels to reduce the rights of LGBTQ+ individuals.
The American Civil Liberties Union is tracking 491 anti-LGBTQ bills in the United States, many of which attempt to block gender-affirming healthcare, prevent trans youth from participating in school activities or undermine nondiscrimination laws.
Declaring June as Pride Month supports the queer community during a vulnerable time, White-Sanborn said.
“No one genuinely believes that we are asking for special treatment when we ask for acknowledgment of our unique struggles, unless they believe those struggles are something that should happen to us,” she said.
Ortiz-Legg said it’s important for the county to recognize the pain prejudice has inflicted on LGBTQ+ folks.
“I think it’s very clear that many of us, including myself, don’t recognize always the kinds of daily traumas that one can endure,” she said.
Paulding thanked White-Sanborn and Coyler-Worth for accepting the proclamation on behalf of the Gala Pride and Diversity Center.
With LGBTQ+ youth suffering from higher rates of suicide and homelessness compared to their peers, Paulding said it’s critical for the board to pass this resolution.
Gibson echoed his statement.
“I embrace this resolution because its a fundamental expression of our shared humanity,” Gibson said.
This story was originally published June 20, 2023 at 7:40 PM.
