Los Altos reverses ban on gay pride proclamations

By Jason Green
Daily News Group
(San Jose Mercury News, USA)
Wed, Jul. 26, 2006

http://www.mercurynews.com/mld/mercurynews/news/15128108.htm?template=contentModules/printstory.jsp

Surprised Los Altos business owners and residents celebrated the
City Council's decision late Tuesday to reverse a ban on city
proclamations related to sexual orientation.

By a unanimous vote, the council elected to rewrite the policy so
that all proclamation requests will now be considered by the mayor.

``We feel vindicated,'' Los Altos business owner Peter Yessne said
shortly after the decision. ``It's the best possible outcome and
we're happy the City Council recognized they made an error and they
were willing to change it.''

During a half-hour news conference before the council meeting,
nearly three dozen business owners and residents called for the
council to rescind the rule passed in February.

``We believe this city rule plainly discriminates against people
based on sexual orientation,'' said Yessne, who wore a red T-shirt
emblazoned with the message ``Proclaim equality Los Altos.''

``It is an embarrassment for many of us living and working in Los
Altos and it belies a governmental commitment to all its citizens.''

The rule, Yessne continued, denied gays the same rights others have
to request city proclamations.

City officials approved the ban after the Gay Straight Alliance of
Los Altos High School asked the council for a third year in a row to
OK a proclamation declaring June 7 Gay Pride Day in the city.

The council granted such a proclamation the first year the alliance
asked for one, but denied similar requests the next two years.

At the time the rule was approved, then-Mayor David Casas argued
that proclamations should be limited to city businesses or to honor
citizens for good work. Three of the five council members agreed.

The move sent shock waves through the bedroom community of 28,000
and the Bay Area, capturing the attention of the media and the
American Civil Liberties Union.

``We've really seen the (Lesbian Gay Bisexual Transgender) community
and Los Altos residents and straight allies and business owners step
up to the plate,'' said Leslie Bulbuk, who works for the Bay Area
Municipal Elections Committee, which educates elected officials
about gay issues. ``Nobody likes hearing their city is a
discriminatory place.''

Yessne said 57 business owners in the city signed a petition calling
for an end to the rule.

Concerns raised by the Gay Straight Alliance about the procedure for
obtaining a Gay Pride Day proclamation led Mayor Ron Packard to
introduce a memo Tuesday asking the council to consider changing the
rule.

Packard called for switching the rule with one that empowered the
council to approve ``any proclamation in support of, or opposed to,
any political or religious issues.''

``On a cost-benefit analysis, I see little advantage to continue the
provisions as now stated,'' he wrote in the memo.

The council, instead, approved a modified version of Packard's
suggestion that puts the power in the mayor's hands to issue
proclamations.

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