Peoria Times
10 OPINION
July 16, 2020
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Pride Fest request discriminates against police BY DAVID LEIBOWITZ Peoria Times Columnist
In the stiff competition for The Dumbest Thing I’ve Heard Lately, we now have a clear winner. Phoenix Pride – the LGBTQ+ group whose vision is to build “a unified community where diverse individuals are celebrated and able to thrive as their authentic selves” – has banned uniformed police officers from participating in this year’s 40th annual Phoenix Pride Festival and Parade.
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The ban, enacted “in solidarity with LGBTQ Black and Indigenous People of Color,” includes two requests made of the Phoenix Police Department. One is that PPD “use only unarmed, non-uniformed officers to manage required street closures and traffic restrictions” around the event, which draws tens of thousands of people to the area around Steele Indian School Park in midtown. Additionally, Phoenix Pride has committed to hiring “only the minimum mandated number of hand-selected off-duty officers” to provide security at the Festival Nov. 7-8. Law enforcement members who still want to participate in or attend Pride have been asked to do so “without badges, firearms, non-lethal weapons, or any other identifying gear or equipment present.” Well, I guess that rules out the cop in the Village People showing up this year, huh? The ironies here are multiple and
absurd. After 40 years of battling against discrimination and for diversity in the Valley, an organization whose P.R.O.U.D. values statement literally includes the phrase, “We celebrate and respect the fundamental values and differences in all individuals” has itself discriminated against an entire profession – a profession which itself has gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender and queer persons among its ranks. We’ve all heard the phrase “in the closet.” It’s a phrase that has become politically incorrect over the years, in part due to the hard work of groups like Phoenix Pride, whose messages of inclusiveness and openness have resonated far beyond the communities they serve – even as far as straight old white guys like me. That’s one more reason why this decision sticks in my craw: Doesn’t it effectively stuff police officers in the closet, telling them not only are SEE LEIBOWITZ PAGE 11
MARGULIES’ OPINION — jimmymargulies.com
