Stockton votes to raise Pride flag above City Hall following deadlock, pressure from both sides
STOCKTON -- The Stockton City Council voted 4-3 on Tuesday night to raise the Pride flag above city hall, marking the fifth consecutive year the rainbow flag will fly to commemorate Pride Month.
Some advocates feared that the flag might not fly at all this year as the council's back-and-forth on the topic delayed the vote to its June 20 council meeting.
"Hatred has no home here in Stockton," said one advoacte during a rally on the steps of city hall on Tuesday.
"What our community is fighting for is the right to be seen," said another speaker.
The San Joaquin County Pride Center and LGBTQ+ community advocates gathered with just ten days left in Pride Month to urge city council members to raise the flag.
"For the past four years, we've had the Pride flag raised without any opposition. Now, in a time when it's harder to be gay, we're seeing conservative opposition nationwide," said Stockton advocate David Seng Thay.
After deadlocking on the vote earlier this month, four "yes" votes ultimately passed the measure Tuesday to raise the flag starting the morning of June 21, alongside 3 "no" votes.
The "no" votes were cast by Mayor Kevin Lincoln, Michele Padilla and Michael Blower.
"My commitment and love for the city will not change, nor do I view anybody in this community differently," said Mayor Lincoln.
Lincoln, Padilla and Blower each emphasized they support the LGBTQ+ community, but wish to not fly the flag above city hall out of fairness for all communities in Stockton.
"We can agree to disagree and not have to hate each other. I would ask people be tolerant of those with other views," said Councilman Blower. "My position on this is not coming from a sense of hate. It's coming from a position of fairness."
Recently, the San Joaquin County Board of Supervisors failed to pass a motion to fly the Pride flag above the county's administrative building. The board could not reach the four votes needed for approval, so the motion failed.
More Pride pushback nationwide?
It all comes as LGBTQ+ advocates in Stockton aren't the only ones who feel like Pride Month this year has felt more like a fight than a celebration.
"We're taking steps back as a community in our city. It's regressive," said Thay.
Is there more Pride pushback this year? Statewide advocates say, yes.
"This is a part of history that a community will not forget. It's a part of history we will reflect down the line when we are electing future leaders and remember who voted no on raising a Pride flag," said Jorge Reyes Salinas, with the advocacy group Equality California.
Salinas said the nation's political climate and presidential campaigns are to blame, arguing both are fanning the flames against the LGBTQ+ community.
"Pride right now feels like a protest — a rally — of making sure any part of the LGBTQ community is not erased," said Salinas.
When it comes to Pride progress, one of the world's most famous gay celebrities, Elton John, told the Radio Times in an interview released Tuesday, "We seem to be going backwards. And that spreads. It's like a virus that the LGBTQ+ movement is suffering."
Salinas agreed.
"When one part of our community is under attack, all of us are under attack," he said.
For advocates in Stockton, even when the Pride flag flies Wednesday morning, they say there's more work to be done in their fight for visibility and inclusion.
"Raising the flag means it's a public support and they're afraid to support us publicly when it matters, especially in a time like now," Thay said of the dissenting votes.
The Human Rights Campaign for the first time in its more than 40 years declared a state of emergency this month for LGBTQ+ people, they say, as more than 75 anti-LGBTQ+ bills have been signed into law this year nationwide.
