Susanville City Council declares June as Gay Pride Month
The Susanville City Council issued a proclamation declaring June as Gay Pride Month in the city of Susanville.
Warm applause from public members attending the meeting followed councilmember Quincy McCourt’s reading the proclamation recognizing Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Queer+2s Month in the city of Susanville.
According to the proclamation, while society at large increasingly supports the LGBTQ2s community, “it is essential to acknowledge that the need for education and awareness remain vital to end discrimination and prejudice” … and the Susanville City Council “calls upon the people of this municipality to embrace this principle and work to eliminate prejudice everywhere it exists.”
Jake Hibbits thanked the council for the proclamation.
“As a Susanville resident, as a community member, I am here also as a happily gay married man,” Hibbits said. “In almost two dozen states across our nation, people like me and my husband and friends I have in here are not free from discrimination, and that comes in many forms … The dream to start a family and live a good life are not the right at this moment of every LGBTQ2+ person like myself in this country.”
He said he grew up in rural California in an era that kept LGBTQ people “in the closet and without room to spread our wings.”
He also noted the majority of Lassen County residents voted against marriage equality just 14 years ago back in 2008 and Proposition 8.
“It pains me to know the majority voted against it, but it also encourages me to know that I have support from my family, friends and my community and now my council, today,” Hibbits said. “It’s going to help our community and those who discover Susanville to feel safe, accepted … loved and celebrated.”
Hibbits also asked the council to raise the pride flag during the month of June to “honor the continued injustices specifically forced upon our community and to celebrate our beautiful differences — whether that be our sexual orientation or our gender identify” and help make Susanville “a great and safe place for all.”
