Stand in joy and Pride

by Gwendolyn Ann Smith

Pride, in 2023, feels a bit surreal. For months, we have heard the worst people on the right relentlessly labeling LGBTQ people – and in particular transgender people – as groomers, preying on the nation’s children. The lack of any evidence of this has been irrelevant: they know that if they repeat these empty claims enough, people will grow accustomed to them and, eventually, just accept them as true.

As this goes on, locations across the country have passed increasingly draconian laws against transgender and other people. Bathroom bills have returned, as have bans on drag, “don’t say gay and trans” bills, and bills barring our ability to access care and medications. The worst of these have been in Florida, though large swaths of the country have become dangerous for transgender people to set foot within.

I’ve also recently written about the way that “corporate pride” has been targeted, with Hershey’s, Disney, Bud Light, and Target being high profile companies bearing the brunt of rightwing animus. (https://www.ebar.com/ story.php?ch=News&sc=News%20 Columns&id=325726) The actions of course aren’t just focused on these companies, but they will force other businesses to weigh their support of LGBTQ people against the cost of the negative publicity they’ll face. I suspect we are nearing the end of the era of “corporate Pride” for a while, at least.

It’s a frustrating and, frankly, depressing time to try to celebrate Pride – and yet, when I pass the elementary school down the street from me, I see the Progress Pride flag on the pole outside, just below Old Glory and our own state flag. The Progress flag recently adorned the Truman Balcony of the White House, overlooking the largest Pride event ever held at Executive Mansion.

Even as Target pulls Pride-themed swimsuits and flags from their shelves at some stores, other companies still sell LGBTQ-themed goods. The North Face clothing company was attacked in the same way as Target. But made it clear it wasn’t caving in. You can still get plenty of rainbow-themed products, drinks, and snacks from scads of other companies, if you feel the need to do so. They may even be marginally better than what passes for chocolate and beer from The Hershey Company and AnheuserBusch, respectively, but I digress.

The point is this: even during this time of runaway hatred and violence surrounding Pride, the celebration of the LGBTQ community is still going on this year. It’s a bit like the end of “How the Grinch Stole Christmas,” where even after the eponymous character removes the vestiges of the holiday, it still happens, showing that it exists in the people,

From page 12

The San Francisco Recreation and Park Department will present Trans-Tastic Soccer Games Saturday, June 24, from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the James P. Lang Soccer Fields, at Gough Street and Golden Gate Avenue.

Co-hosted by Kicking Out Transphobia and the Queer Trans Sports Alliance, the day will include matches for kids and adults, a flyer stated.

Youth games, for those ages 8-16, take place from 9 to 11 a.m. with an 8:15 check-in. Adult games (ages 17 and older) take place from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. with a 10:15 check-in time. A $10 entry fee includes a T-shirt, snacks, and water.

For more information, go to https://tinyurl.com/3xmfhv9v t not in the baubles, decorations, or the cans of Who Hash.

Here’s the secret: the backlash against Pride, against drag, and against trans rights has a simple cause. It’s not about grooming, or about “mutilating children,” or whatever horror stories the right is shouting. It’s not even about trans TikTok personality Dylan Mulvaney’s image being slapped on a single Bud Light beer can or about Target selling items festooned with queer-affirming statements.

No, it’s about this: the right is losing.

This has been happening for a long time. The attacks on trans rights came as a direct reaction to the U.S. Supreme Court’s 2015 Obergefell v. Hodges decision that legalized same-sex marriage nationwide, and it shouldn’t surprise us to see these attacks ramp up to new, awful heights as former President Donald

Trump and the Republican Party’s influence has waned after the 2020 election. They can see their power being threatened and are looking for any possible foothold. While they attack us, they also attack women’s rights, Black people and other people of color, immigrants, and any other target they can find. Even their attacks on The Walt Disney Co. or Anheuser-Busch can be viewed in the same way. They need that outrage to feel power and strength, and feel like they aren’t standing on so much shifting sand. This is where we come in. They are so desperate to feel potent, and need to see us scared, cowering, and in fear of them. All their protests, all their rage, it’s all so they can continue to feel that power that’s slipping through their fingers.

As I mentioned, this Pride season is surreal, with us dancing into a world that is hostile, even violent. I’m not going to downplay that. I do urge you to be cautious, and remain safe in the face of all this. This is not a time for unnecessary risks – but this is also a time to balance that against our community’s strength. It is a time for us to stand together against those who would seek to have us live in fear.

It is incumbent on us that we continue to thrive. We need to continue to show our radical, beautiful joy.

That may well be your participation in your local Pride events, marching in the streets, dancing near the stages, or otherwise being a part of the mass of people showing our Pride and our joy. This is the most obvious thing we can do this month, to show that we will not be so easily cowed.

It is more than this, however. It’s living every day. It’s being out and proud and vibrant in a world that would rather sap us of our glorious color. It’s every day you embrace hope and possibility when the right wants to hand you limitations and fear. Every one of us who is out, and joyful, and visible – even in the smallest ways – shows the waning power and influence of those who stand against us.

Right now, it is a radical act just to be yourself – so be yourself boldly. t

Gwen Smith wishes everyone the best Pride they’ve ever had. You’ll find her at www.gwensmith.com

Narrowly adopted by voters in 2008, Prop 8 defined marriage as being between a man and a woman under California law. It was later found to be unconstitutional by federal courts, paving the way for same-sex marriages to resume in the Golden State in June 2013. Two years later the U.S. Supreme Court established marriage equality as a federal right with its Obergefell v. Hodges decision released during Pride Month of 2015.

Despite those legal rulings there is concern among LGBTQ advocates that the current conservative majority on the court could rescind Obergefell akin to its ending a federal right to abortion last June. Under such a scenario, the fear is that Prop 8’s language would once again become law and bar same-sex couples from getting married in California.

To avoid that from happening, gay Assemblymember Evan Low (D-Cupertino) earlier this year introduced Assembly Constitutional Amendment 5, which would excise Prop 8’s language from the state’s governing document. On June 5, Low gathered with several of his legislative colleagues on the West Steps of the California State Capitol to announce ACA 5’s actual language that would appear on the November 2024 general election ballot.

Last week, Lieutenant Governor Eleni Kounalakis asked supporters of her 2026

From page 1 of who they are, what they look like, or who they love are unacceptable and will be prosecuted.”

If Abdullah is found guilty on all charges, he faces over 10 years in prison. In the courtroom, Assistant District Attorney Jamal Anderson claimed Abdullah was “targeting members of the LGBTQ community and yelled ho-

From page 10 the chief impact officer of the Los Angeles LGBT Center, stated, “Glendale parents and educators overwhelmingly showed up in support of the LGBTQ+ community.”

“The school board was simply voting on whether or not Glendale Unified should recognize June as LGBTQ+ Pride Month,” Russell-Salvin continued. “What should have been an amicable meeting – even if there was disagreement among some community members – turned into a shelter-in-place order that frightened participants. This is, of course, the goal of far-right extremists: They want us to be afraid.”

Russell-Salvin also clarified that “there is a difference between sex education and LGBTQ+ competent curriculum in schools.”

“In the case of Glendale Unified, there are specific policies in place that allow any parent to review sexual education curriculum ahead of its implementation, and decide as to whether or not they should remove their child from those lessons,” Russell-Salvin explained.

Newsom stated that it “should have been a routine vote.”

“The words of the resolution did not change from years past, but what has changed is a wave of division and demonization sweeping our nation,” Newsom stated. “With hate on the rise nationally, we must rise together in California to affirm what both Pride Month and Immigrant Heritage Month represent – that in the Golden State, no matter who you are or what diverse community you are from, you belong.”

Wiener warned that “LGBTQ Californians … are at significant risk of harm due to inflammatory rhetoric that incites violence.”

“It’s an orchestrated national campaign to erase LGBTQ people from history and intimidate us back into the closet,” he stated. “This harassment gubernatorial campaign to sign up as citizen sponsors of ACA 5 on a website she launched June 7. Kounalakis is a cosponsor of it herself.

“In a time where the extremist Supreme Court has the power to disband the rights and liberties that embody our country’s foundation – like they’ve done with abortion and threatened of gay marriage – it is of the utmost importance that our state leads the cause in protecting marriage equality,” wrote Kounalakis.

“Enshrining the right to marriage equality is long overdue. So let’s stand up to defend the right to love & uphold equality by overturning Prop 8.”

Despite calls from a number of Baptist pastors in the state to reject ACA 5, the Assembly Judiciary Committee voted 9-1 in favor of it on June 13. At the hearing Tuesday morning several members of the panel came on board as co-authors of it, including Assemblymember Ash Kalra (D-San Jose). Over the weekend he officiated the wedding of two women he is “dear friends” with, saying everyone should have the same “privilege” to marry the person they love.

“Our state should absolutely stand with love, not with bigotry, not with those that seek to divide, but those who seek to actually bring a loving community together,” said Kalra. “I am grateful that the voters will have a chance and opportunity to make it very clear where California stands, that we stand on the side of love.” mophobic slurs.”

Deputy Public Defender Tehanita Taylor said in this case “there was no direct threat” to life, and Abdullah’s speech was “sarcastic.”

“He’s fairly young, only 20 years old, and doesn’t have a lot of family,” Taylor said. “He has some religious principles he was socialized in.”

Anderson disagreed about the threat question, saying Abdullah had said “kill the gays,” to which the defendant laughed when it was repeated in court.

ACA 5 requires a two-thirds vote by the Legislature to be adopted, with the Assembly expected to pass it by the end of the month. The state Senate is expected to pass it later this summer, although the chamber has until June 30, 2024, to vote for it in order to get it onto the November ballot that fall. ACA 5 doesn’t need to go before Governor Gavin Newsom to sign.

Francisco Castillo, who is raising two children with his husband, told the Assembly committee this week that Prop 8 is “a deep wound inflicted upon our hearts” that must be repealed.

“Despite the strides we have made toward equality, the shackles of discrimination still exist in our constitution,” said Castillo, a board member with statewide LGBTQ advocacy organization Equality California.

Tuesday evening the San Francisco Board of Supervisors unanimously adopted 11-0 without comment a resolution in support of ACA 5 and seeing the Prop 8 repeal measure go before voters next November. The coming votes on ACA 5 in the Statehouse prompted District 11 Supervisor Ahsha Safaí to bring forward a resolution.

As the Bay Area Reporter’s online Political Notes column first reported June 8, Safaí secured the blessing of his three gay colleagues on the board – Supervisors Joel Engardio of District 4, Matt Dorsey of District 6, and Rafael Mandelman of

Hwang said he would not rule on Abdullah’s release at the arraignment, but if he were to be released, the judge would issue a protective order to stay away from some locations and individuals. Abdullah remains in custody in San Francisco County Jail.

Anderson said that Abdullah may be implicated in tearing down a Pride flag at a nearby store, and attacking people “at some kind of street fair near the Castro … clearly indicating a targeted attack on this community.” disappointed to read about the events unfolding at Saticoy Elementary School – and not just from where I sit as the chief impact officer of the Los Angeles LGBT Center. To be completely frank, I am more so concerned as a lesbian mother who’s raising a child in Los Angeles County.

District 8 – to introduce the resolution. All three signed on as co-sponsors.

“We felt, given the fact this is still embedded in the California Constitution, it is the right time to repeal it,” Safaí told the B.A.R. in an exclusive interview June 7, a day after introducing the resolution at the board.

As for taking a lead role in authoring it, Safaí said he felt it was an appropriate action, so long as his gay colleagues supported his doing it, because it will take a coalition of voters to support repealing Prop 8’s language next November.

“It is the LGBTQ+ community and allies who will have to do this together,” said Safaí, who will also appear on the same ballot as a San Francisco mayoral candidate.

His officiating the marriage in April of Thomas Luchini, 69, and Adrian Catuar, 71, had sparked the idea for the resolution, said Safaí. He has been friends with the couple since Luchini volunteered on Safaí’s first losing bid for supervisor in 2008 on the same ballot that saw Prop 8 pass. (Safaí would go on to win election to the District 11 seat in 2016.)

Luchini told the B.A.R. he was happy to learn the couple’s marriage had sparked the resolution from Safaí, calling it “a great idea.” But in a sign of how LGBTQ advocates will need to educate voters that Prop 8 still lingers, Luchini also said he thought the court rulings had completely invalidated it.

The next hearing in the case will be at 9 a.m. June 21 in Department 12 at the Hall of Justice.

When being escorted out of the court, Abdullah asked if he could make a statement. Hwang said that would be appropriate at a later time, but Abdullah spoke nonetheless, saying the LGBTQ community is “against God,” whether one is “Christian, Jewish or Muslim.”

“The LGBT community is going against families,” he said, adding that the burning of a Pride flag on school grounds. She attended the June 2 Pride assembly at Saticoy Elementary to show her support for the school’s students and staff.

“I was surprised; I thought Prop 8 had been repealed. But I guess the language is still in the constitution,” said Luchini, who first met Catuar in April 1978 at the now-closed Castro gay bar Alfie’s.

It is believed the San Francisco board is the first county municipal body to publicly come out in support of ACA 5. The Cupertino City Council in April had sent state lawmakers a letter of support for seeing ACA 5 move forward; the Oakland City Council last July became the first known elected body in the state to call for voters to repeal Prop 8.

“Marriage equality is a fundamental right, and I’m thankful to have the support of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors,” Low told the B.A.R. “This is an opportunity for our state to remove a black mark from the California constitution and protect our community members, especially considering the recent attacks on the LGBTQ+ community.”

As for having confidence that voters will do away with Prop 8 once and for all next year, Safaí pointed out that since its initial passage, public support for marriage equality has only grown and President Joe Biden last December signed bipartisan legislation, the Respect for Marriage Act, to repeal the discriminatory Defense of Marriage Act that was passed in 1996.

See page 15 >> it’s “so fucked up” and “you know the truth.”

The public defender’s office did not return a message asking if Abdullah would be willing to speak to a reporter. SFPD stated that while an arrest has been made, the investigation is ongoing. Anyone with information regarding this investigation is asked to call the SFPD Tip Line at 1-415-575-4444 or Text a Tip to TIP411 and begin the text message with SFPD. You may remain anonymous t for having been a conservative mainstay for generations before recently becoming more moderate – will only fly federal, state, and county flags.

Courtesy office campaign targets LGBTQ-focused curricula – for example, the recent banning by a Temecula school board of a textbook that discusses Harvey Milk – and even Pride celebrations. Driving the mob last night in Glendale are years of slander against LGBTQ people that far-right extremists use to stoke hate –particularly the slander that LGBTQ people are ‘groomers’ and ‘pedophiles.’”

Tony Hoang, a gay man who’s executive director of statewide LGBTQ rights group Equality California, stated that “school board meetings across the country have been turned into arenas for anti-LGBTQ+ political propaganda.”

“We applaud the Glendale Unified School Board for supporting the Pride Month resolution, and GUSD administrators and educators for supporting and affirming LGBTQ+ students every day,” he continued.

The Glendale incident came just days after anti-LGBTQ+ demonstrations at Saticoy Elementary School in North Hollywood, also in Los Angeles County.

A Pride assembly had been scheduled at the school for June 2. The Los Angeles Times reported that 100 people showed up to protest, with signs like “No pride in grooming.”

Russell-Slavin stated, “I am beyond

“The Pride celebration scheduled at Saticoy Elementary School was meant to celebrate LGBTQ+ community members and families like mine,” she added. “My wife and I are proudly raising our child to be accepting, welcoming, and loving to everyone – and hope that his education reflects those same values of basic human dignity and decency. The fact that this is somehow a controversial or ‘hot-button issue’ is not just alarming, it’s deeply saddening. Families like mine deserve to be included and represented in our classrooms and our school events. My child should not be educated to be ashamed of his mothers. I am not a threat to anyone by loving my family.”

LGBTQ caucus member Senator Caroline Menjivar (D- San Fernando Valley) condemned the violence and

“As a lesbian and proud member of the LGBTQ+ community, as well as a strong advocate for inclusivity, I believe it is crucial to foster an environment where all students feel accepted and celebrated,” stated Menjivar. “I commend Saticoy Elementary for taking the initiative to organize a Pride event.

Such inclusive programming “is vital,” added Menjivar, “in promoting a positive and respectful school culture, one that embraces differences and encourages students to appreciate the identities of each other and their families. By recognizing and celebrating LGBTQ+ identities, the school is setting a shining example of acceptance and understanding for all its students, staff, and parents.

The same day as the Glendale melee, the Orange County Board of Supervisors voted 3-2 that the county – famous

Stephanie Camacho-Van Dyke, M.A., the director of advocacy and education for Orange County’s LGBTQ Center, told the B.A.R. that this comes in the context of the wider national backlash, stating “we condemn the actions that have taken place over the last year, where over 525 state bills have been introduced and 70 bills that attack LGBTQIA+ people have become law.”

“Earlier this week, the Orange County Board of Supervisors voted to remove all Pride flags, as well as non-governmental flags, from county buildings,” Camacho-Van Dyke wrote. “The timing was too coincidental. The fact that the decision was made during the beginning of Pride Month amid the relentless attacks on the LGBTQIA+ community is suspect. What does this message send to queer and trans students and youth? We cannot stand by while this happens.” t

Members of FACT/SF, a contemporary dance company in San Francisco, performed as part of the Presidio Tunnel Tops’ Fantastic Field Day June 11. The LGBTQ-themed event was part of the Queer Athletic Futurity and challenged how people look at conventional forms of athleticism. The Tunnel Tops, which opened last July, is a new attraction within the Presidio National Park.