Porterville Mayor Out After LGBT Pride Month Declaration
PORTERVILLE, Calif. (AP) - The mayor and vice mayor in the Central California town of Porterville, who were at center of a flap over a lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender pride proclamation, have been removed from their positions by fellow council members.
The Porterville Recorder reports that some residents saw the Porterville City Council's 3-2 decision to reorganize itself on Tuesday as retribution against Mayor Virginia Gurrola's issuing of the proclamation and vice mayor Pete McCracken's support of it.
Other residents expressed their "disgust" and "upset" with time being wasted on such issues as the proclamation and reorganizing the council.
A Porterville resident had requested the proclamation after President Barack Obama this year declared June LGBT Pride Month.
But council members who voted for the change of positions contend it had nothing to do with their dislike for the proclamation. They said they support rotating council officers.
The same council members rescinded the mayor's LGBT pride proclamation in July. They then voted to replace the LGBT proclamation with a resolution calling June a month of community charity and goodwill to all.
Three protesters who favored the proclamation were arrested at the City Council meeting on suspicion of disorderly conduct following that decision.
Supporters have said the proclamation promoted tolerance and they deserved to feel comfortable in the city. Opponents objected to the proclamation on religious grounds.
In 2008, the City Council approved a resolution in support of Proposition 8, which banned gay marriage in California.
Copyright 2013 The Associated Press.
