Homophobes?

Pierce County Council turns cheek to gay community
by Matt Driscoll
Jul 10, 2008

If the Republican majority on the Pierce County Council speaks for a majority of Pierce County, it might as well be 1954.

If the Republican majority on the Pierce County Council votes in accordance with the views and sentiments of the majority of Pierce County, well, as it turns out we live in a county of backwoods homophobes and bigots.

On Tuesday, July 8, in a process that’s usually nothing more than gracious formality, Pierce County Council members Calvin Goings, Timothy Farrell and Barbara Gelman — all non-bigots — asked the council to proclaim July 12 as GLBT Pride Day. The not unusual request was made on behalf of the organizers of this year’s “Out in the Park” Gay Pride festival, to be held the same day at Lincoln-Eldridge Park. It’s called a proclamation, and it’s something Goings says “they usually hand out like candy.”

Tuesday, though, was different. When Goings, Farrell and Gelman asked, at the council’s noon study session that precedes the evening meeting, to place the proclamation on the agenda, the Republican majority — Council Chair Terry Lee, District Three’s Roger Bush, District Six’s Dick Muri, and District One’s double-chinned County Executive hopeful Shawn Bunney shot down the idea. It was a move Goings, during his eight years on the Pierce County Council, had never seen anything like.

“We do (proclamations) regularly. I’ve never seen a council member not be able to get a proclamation on the agenda. It’s customary — something usually done out of courtesy,” says Goings. “The proclamation we proposed was pretty cut and dry, one that was very straightforward and opposed intolerance and bigotry.”

“In my eight years I’ve never seen the council treat members of the community so poorly,” Goings continues. “It was a low moment. I was shocked and completely dumbfounded that the Republican majority on the council would not stand up for equal rights.”

Not only did the Republican majority on the Pierce County Council refuse to voluntarily place the proclamation on the agenda — as is customary — when Goings made an official motion during the evening meeting, again asking to have the proclamation added to the agenda, the team of Lee, Bush, Muri and Bunney voted the idea down 4-3. To make matters worse, at the end of Tuesday’s meeting, when members of the community who gathered in support of the proclamation were finally given a chance to speak, several members of the Republican majority got up and left without hearing a word they had to say.

Score a victory for bigotry in Pierce County.

The decision seemed to catch everyone off guard, especially organizers and those involved with this year’s Out in the Park Gay Pride event.

“I was very surprised. It was a political backlash,” says Out in the Park’s Shelly Maas. “I actually took yesterday’s events as a catalyst. We’ve accomplished a great deal, but there’s still a lot to do.”

“It was quite stunning, and tremendously difficult to swallow,” adds Aimee Welch of Tacoma’s Rainbow Center. “It’s seems like an effort to not give us a voice, and not recognize us as human beings. To me it feels like they don’t want us here.”

The only good news in all this is no one I spoke with seems to think the vote represented the majority view of Pierce County.

“This was the Republican majority,” says Farrell. “I don’t believe the vote represents Pierce County.”

Let’s hope he’s right.

User comments

submitted 08:54 on Jul 10, 2008 by RR Anderson

Seems like the pierce county council would be a good fit for Mike Lonergan

submitted 06:50 on Jul 13, 2008 by Mofo from the Hood

Mr. Driscoll. How do you account for your position on this topic. Please explain your definition of bigot and how it applies to your views.

submitted 07:43 on Jul 13, 2008 by Matt Driscoll

Bigot = a person who is utterly intolerant of any differing creed, belief, or opinion. (That's from Dictionary.com, but I tend to agree.) I think the vote referenced in this story speaks for itself.

submitted 11:28 on Jul 13, 2008 by Saint Shin

Mofo from the Hood - How do you account for your cheeseball Internet alias? Are you unknowingly and indirectly mocking elements of black culture? Or are you doing it on purpose? Please explain your definition of Mofo, and how it applies to you being a douche.

submitted 07:03 on Jul 14, 2008 by RR Anderson

Mofo wishes he was black.

submitted 08:29 on Jul 15, 2008 by Mofo from the Hood

Saint Shin, why might any author choose a pseudonym or a pen name? If mine got your attention then for me it served its purpose. I happen to come from a school of thought that says, once you get someone's attention then have something to say. Anyone who has access to a computer could Google my pen name or a variation of it and then piece together a speculation that "Mofo from the Hood" probably designates anybody, even you. Speaking of definitions, someone who has convictions, like Mr. Driscoll, is not necessarily an ignorant bigot.

submitted 11:08 on Jul 15, 2008 by Keeper

It's high time someone finally stood up for the view of the majority, rather than the shoutings of the few. Driscoll, I believe you're talking to the wrong people if you found a lack of support for the council's decision. This decision does not recognize homosexuals as less than human, however it does send a message that we as the majority choose to not allot an "official" day to celebrate what we know to be wrong.

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