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Date: 6/8/2022
AMHERST – The Amherst Town Council and other officials gathered outside of Town Hall to deliver messages in support of Pride month, read the Proclamation Recognizing June as LGBTQ+ (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer or questioning plus) Pride Month and raise the Pride Progress Flag for the rest of the month on a sunny afternoon on June 3.
Council Vice President Ana Devlin Gauthier and former Councilor Evan Ross read a message delivered from Sen. Ed Markey’s office. His office said that as cities and towns across Massachusetts and the country raise Pride flags this month, we must also raise our voices to call for equality and justice for all.
“Massachusetts has long led the nation in the fight for equal rights,” the message said. “Today, we celebrate that every person can marry whomever they love and live with pride as their authentic selves. Throughout Sen. Markey’s service in Congress, he has fought for equal rights for all Americans, including members of the LGBTQ community who continue to face systemic discrimination, bigotry and hate. We will not rest until our federal government protects every single person, no matter how they identify or who they love. We must protect trans youth who are facing unacceptable, cruel and dangerous transphobic state legislation across the country.”
State Rep. Mindy Domb made an appearance, saying she loves being able to celebrate an inclusive community that is based on love and is lucky to be able to do so in Massachusetts.
“But we can’t stand and just slap ourselves on the back and say, ‘We’ve got it all together in Massachusetts.’ We can do more in Massachusetts, and we need to do more,” Domb said. “One of the things I’m really fighting for in the next six weeks before the end of the session is that the legislature passes what I’m calling a visibility agenda. The visibility agenda would have a couple bills that [state] Sen. [Jo] Comerford and I have introduced. One is called Gender X, which would make sure that Massachusetts allows a non-binary gender option on every state form and application, and also allows birth certificates to be changed easily.”
Before the LGBTQ Pride Progress Flag was raised, councilors took turns reading sections of the Pride month proclamation. The proclamation remembered the New York City police raiding the Stonewall Inn, a gay club in Greenwich Village on June 28, 1969. That raid of the gay club sparked a riot which later served as a motivator for the first Pride march in New York City in June 1970.
“Whereas, we celebrate and reflect upon the courage and accomplishments of the LGBTQ+ community who continue to fight for progress towards securing important rights and freedoms to live freely and authentically, often through struggle and adversity; and Whereas, the LGBTQ+ community has and continues to face systemic discrimination across the United States including social stigma, challenges accessing healthcare and other basic social services, and increased rates of violence,” reads the fourth and fifth clauses in the proclamation.
The rest of the clauses recognize queer and trans people being at the forefront of the struggle for those rights and says the town of Amherst values diversity and inclusion, is committed to equal rights, justice, and opportunity, and that they affirm their support for the LGBTQ+ residents and stand with them to protect their civil rights and ability to live openly without fear.