Pride Week!!! Proud Proclamations

Originally posted in the Decoding Skorman series; May 16, 2011

(4/29/11)

Pridefest receives no support from mayor

Publication:

The Gazette 

Publish date:

July 7, 2004

 

Author:

ED SEALOVER 

Mayor Lionel Rivera will not issue a proclamation of support for this year's Colorado Springs gay pride parade, ending a seven-year tradition.

Activists have turned the parade from a celebration of gay community achievements to a political demonstration for same-sex marriage, Rivera said Tuesday. He said he will not use his office to support that cause.

Ryan Acker, director of the Pikes Peak Gay and Lesbian Community Center, said Monday that 50 same-sex couples will request marriage licenses next week at the El Paso County Clerk and Recorder's Office. When that fails, because Colorado law outlaws it, they will hold a symbolic wedding in Acacia Park during Pridefest.

Rivera surveyed council members Tuesday morning, and the group reportedly said "no proclamation" by an unofficial 7-2 vote. Rivera then wrote a letter and called Acker to tell him of the decision.

"I do not support same-sex marriage and will not lend my office to your promotion," the letter said.

Reaction from gay rights supporters was strong.

Vice Mayor Richard Skorman said Rivera's views do not represent the majority of the community. Acker said the improving relationship he saw last year between the city government and the gay community took a big step back.

"We're definitely disappointed," Acker said. "But it will go on, and we will continue to make this a more diverse community."

Former Mayor Mary Lou Makepeace issued proclamations supporting Pridefest while in office from 1997 to 2003. Rivera surprised some when he continued the tradition last year, despite having voted two months earlier to cut benefits to same-sex partners of city workers.

This year's Pridefest is more political than those of past years, said Rivera and other council members.

In the past year, San Francisco briefly issued same-sex marriage licenses and the Massachusetts Supreme Court mandated gay marriage be allowed in that state. These victories have led to demonstrations around the country, like the one planned in Acacia Park.

Because of the local push, Councilman Randy Purvis said supporting Pridefest this year is tantamount to supporting same-sex marriages.

Councilman Darryl Glenn added that by moving beyond the usual activities, parade organizers look to be picking a fight with the majority of the city.

"It seems like proponents of this are trying to escalate the tension in this community," Glenn said. "The last thing we need to do is to divide this community."

Only Skorman and Councilman Scott Hente disagreed with Rivera's letter, which members have discussed for about two weeks. Skorman called it another mark of blight for the city that produced the anti- gay rights Amendment 2 measure in 1992.

Makepeace also said she was disappointed at the ending of a tradition she began as a way to make event organizers feel they are a part of the community.

"My position was the mayor serves everyone in the community," she said Tuesday.

Officials from Springs-based ministry Focus on the Family, which complained loudly about last year's proclamation, rejoiced in Tuesday's turn of events.

Issues response director Peter Brandt argued most in the community do not support a celebration with an after-hours women's strip show and men's "boxer brief contest." Both events are listed on the gay and lesbian community center's Web site.

Copyright 2009 The Gazette

Letters

Publication:

The Gazette 

Publish date:

July 10, 2004

PRIDEFEST SNUB

Mayor's, council's actions divide community

Apparently Mayor Lionel Rivera and the majority of the City Council do not abide by the city of Colorado Springs proclamation emblazoned on its Web site: "We create community." Their refusal to issue the traditional proclamation supporting Pridefest this month, while unnecessary to the success of the event, is a divisive act ("Pridefest receives no support from mayor," The Gazette, July 7). It creates a climate reminiscent of 1992 when Amendment 2 stirred up the city and state.

Council members who justified their stance by saying they feel this year's Pridefest will be more political than in the past would do well to remember one of our freedoms here in America: freedom of speech. Whether they support gay marriage is irrelevant, but since they brought it up let's look at another building block of our nation -- separation of church and state. Gay marriage is inevitable because it is about equality and rights, not personal opinions and religious perceptions.

Pridefest will take place regardless of the council's decision, and gays and lesbians will continue to work in and contribute to the community of Colorado Springs. Perhaps some day the current city leadership will recognize this and get back to the city's goal of creating community, rather than dividing it.

Kathy French

Judy DeGroot

Colorado Springs

City's image with gays could hurt economy

With Colorado Springs entertaining thoughts of a joint venture project with the private sector to build a downtown convention center, it makes you wonder who will actually book their organizations into this center. Probably only white, well-employed, "Christian" heterosexual males, since Lionel Rivera, Will Perkins, Ed Bircham, James Dobson, Ted Haggard and their respective so-called family values groups are doing everything they can to drive away a large segment of the population from either moving here or booking a convention in our city.

Rivera's refusal to welcome gays and lesbians as equals in our community is only the latest in a series of bigoted actions taken since 1992 when Amendment 2 passed, only to be overturned by the U.S. Supreme Court.

We have established a reputation as a hostile environment for those in the gay and lesbian community, as well as those companies who embrace these people as equals. Are they going to book their conventions here? I doubt it.

Rick Wehner

Manitou Springs

Council's vote reflects views of the majority

I am proud of the City Council's vote for no proclamation for this year's Pridefest. I am even more proud of Mayor Lionel Rivera's stand on the issue. He has demonstrated personal character Colorado Springs needs.

I believe Rivera's views support the majority of this community's opinion, Vice Mayor RichardSkorman's views on the matter notwithstanding.

Victor Fernandez

Colorado Springs

Pridefest draws mixed blessings in Colorado Springs.(News)

Publication:

Rocky Mountain News (Denver, CO) 

Publish date:

July 12, 2007

Author:

Quintero, Fernando

 

Byline: Fernando Quintero, Rocky Mountain News

For the first time in its 17-year history, Colorado Springs' gay Pridefest has received the governor's official blessing.

But the city's mayor has refused to sign a proclamation honoring the event, which will be held Sunday at Acacia Park, because it includes same-sex marriage ceremonies.

"We are grateful to the governor for his support. That is very important to our community," said Ryan Acker, executive director of the Pikes Peak Gay & Lesbian Community Center in Colorado Springs. "At the same time, we were disappointed to learn that the mayor has once again turned down our request for a city proclamation because of his personal beliefs."

In an open letter, Ritter praises the event as "admirable" for instilling "a sense of inclusion and diversity throughout the state."

Colorado Springs Mayor Lionel Rivera said he has refused to sign a city proclamation for Pridefestsince 2004, when organizers began holding same-sex commitment ceremonies as part of the day's festivities.

"I believe marriage should be between a man and a woman. I think my position on the issue reflects the majority of people in Colorado Springs," Rivera said.

The mixed support for the event comes at a time when Colorado Springs is still reeling from the fallout over the highly publicized relationship between evangelical leader Ted Haggard and Denver gay escort Mike Jones.

In November, Jones revealed that Haggard paid him for sex and took methamphetamine in his presence. Haggard initially denied the allegations, then confirmed that some of them were true. He was later fired as head minister of Colorado Springs' New Life Church, and resigned as head of the National Association of Evangelicals.

Jones wrote a book about his three-year affair with Haggard titled, I Had to Say Something: The Art of Ted Haggard's Fall. But both the book and its author have not been welcomed in local book stores. Barnes & Noble and Borders in Colorado Springs refused to carry Jones' book, as did the independent Poor Richard's bookstore downtown.

Jones said the refusals show local businesses are controlled by religious groups, and that the city remains divided over gay rights.

"The bottom line is that the church is using their pressure on the community," Jones said.

Poor Richard's owner Richard Skorman has said he didn't carry the book because it was poorly written.

Rivera's reaction and the controversy over Jones' book in Colorado Springs is in contrast to Denver, where Ritter and Mayor John Hickenlooper have expressed their support for the city's gay pride weekend, which was held June 24.

Still, Acker said there is plenty to celebrate this year. "We have a long history of having to work within the system and facing obstacles," said Acker. "That has only given us strength and more solidarity within our community."

INFOBOX

Demographic comparison

Colorado Springs Denver

* Population 376,985 545,198

* Anglo 74.7% 71.9%

* Hispanic 13.7% 35.1%

* Black 6.3% 10.0%

* Asian 2.6% 2.9%

* Median household income $47,854 $42,370

*Totals May Exceed 100 Percent Because People Are Permitted To Self-Identify As More Than One Race. Source: U.S. Census Bureau, 2005 American Comm ...

COPYRIGHT 2008 Rocky Mountain News.