City recognizes Pride Month
Some refuse to accept proclamation, citing councilman’s comments against gay rights
For the first time in its history, Montclair declared June LGBTQ+ Pride Month on Monday night,
June 7, taking a formal stand against discrimination and violence based on sexual orientation or gender identity.
Along with a proclamation recognizing the LTBTQ+ community living in Montclair, the city lit up the Council Chambers in rainbow-colored LED lights as part of its “celebration of diversity and support for the LGBTQ+ community,” the proclamation read. The lights will shine through June 30, city officials said.
The city has not celebrated the LGBTQ+ community during June, which this year marked the 52nd anniversary of the Stonewall Uprising in New York, a touchstone in the gay rights movement. In October, after getting pressure from activists, Montclair issued a statement marking the month as LGBTQ+ History Month, in celebration of Oct. 11, National Com
ing Out Day.
Mayor John Dutrey presented the proclamation recognizing Pride Month to the Rev. Maggie Burbank of the Monte Vista Unitarian Universalist Congregation, a gay-affirming denomination and congregation.
However, the reverend was a last-minute substitution after gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender and non-binary members from LGBTQ+ groups from in and around the city refused to accept it. Many who spoke Monday objected to the presence of Councilman Benjamin Lopez, saying his past anti-LGBTQ stand on behalf of the conservative Traditional Values Coalition were offensive, hurtful and unacceptable.
Lopez, elected in November, spoke on numerous occasions from 2003 to 2013 before the state Legislature and in media reports against gay rights, samesex marriage, the teaching of contributions from gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender Americans in California public schools, and protections for transgender individuals.
The Traditional Values Coalition was started by Louis Sheldon, a minister who often spoke out against the gay community, and at one time linked LGBTQ people with pedophilia. The Southern Poverty Law Center listed the Traditional Values Coalition as a hate group in 2008 but removed it in 2018 after saying the group is no longer active.
On Monday, Lopez did not respond to the criticism nor demands that he apologize or resign.
Ash Tandoc, a Chaffey College student and current president of the Lavender Coalition, Chaffey College's LGBTQIA+ club, said the coalition could not accept the city's proclamation unless Lopez was gone.
“I encourage the citizens of Montclair to show their support by claiming solidarity with the LGBTQ+ community,” Tandoc told the City Council.
Thuan Nguyen, a longtime Montclair resident and doctoral student in sociology at USC who had asked for the recognition at a previous meeting, said he struggled with the decision not to accept it. He asked Lopez to apologize for past statements and positions he took while working for the now defunct Traditional Values Coalition.
In November, after receiving criticism on the issue, Lopez posted on his Facebook page that he left the group four years ago and vowed to “firmly operate with the belief that all of our residents deserve the benefit and use of all city programs and services, regardless of their race, color, creed, age, religion/faith, disability, cultural background, sex or sexual orientation.”
Resident Jordan Rinker told the council Monday the LGBTQ community was a minority in the city and didn't warrant recognition.
“We can love gay people but don't force it on us,” he said, adding that the rainbow-colored lights on the Council Chambers' windows were inappropriate. “I think we are trying to be like Hollywood,” he concluded.
Dutrey said the city was trying to recognize the LGBTQ community, just like it recognizes other communities in the city throughout the calendar year.
“This proclamation should not be controversial,” he told the audience in the Council Chambers and online.
In an interview on Tuesday, Dutrey said the council “was sabotaged” by those who refused to accept the proclamation made in good faith.
“The whole purpose was not to be political but to recognize the LGBTQ community in Montclair. I was disappointed in the remarks that were made,” he said.
Montclair joined the following cities in the San Gabriel Valley with proclamations for gay pride month: Pasadena, Baldwin Park and El Monte. In San Bernardino County, Redlands issued a proclamation last week recognizing June, 2021 as Pride Month.