An ultra-conservative town, Huntington Beach in California, proposed banning celebrations of LGBTQ+ month, Black History Month, and women’s rights-related events. Instead, according to the Guardian, the town would create events honoring the Revolutionary and Civil Wars, California’s history, and America’s independence.
Celebrating oil drilling
The Guardian reported that Huntington Beach proposed a specific month-long event dubbed Black Gold Jubilee to honor the discovery of oil in this town. The outlet also added how it would create “assorted events commemorating American military victories.” While the right wing is debating, some are not quite thrilled.
Seeking a “welcoming and inclusive community”
Natalie Moser, a Huntington Beach city council member, is against these new ideas, and she told the Guarding, “I want Huntington Beach to be seen as a welcoming and inclusive community.” Moser added, “Instead, we are thrust into this war, and I think that this council majority is trying to make a name for itself as a model or symbol of the extreme-right side of that war.” She said she was “disappointed” but “wasn’t surprised” based on past year’s activities in her town.
The down is deeply divided
Reports claim that those who support Pride were called groomers and worse and even received death threats. Despite being a liberal state, this is not the first idea of banning Pride. Reports said that in September 2023, two school districts prohibited the display of the LGBTQ+ Pride flag. The Guardian noted that Huntington Beach has a history of controversial events, including the “Stop the Steal rally in 2020, a white lives matter rally in 2021, and the distribution of Ku Klux Klan propaganda that same year.”
The city is keeping quiet
Despite being a highly controversial topic, most reports came from social media posts. The town already had “no mask and no vaccine mandate.” Dan Kalmick, also a city council member, called it a “utopia that they accuse everyone else of trying to create.” Kalmick further shared that this was a distraction and accused members of the right-wing majority of “breaking the city.”
State Senator called the attempts “shameful.”
State Senator Dave Min, an Irvine Democrat, called the proposal “embarrassing and shameful” in a statement on X. He wrote, “This is a disgraceful departure from the ideals we should be championing and once again illustrates that this particular HB City Council is more interested in earning cheap headlines than actually addressing the issues affecting the lives of Surf City residents.”
Kalmick called for other issues to be resolved
According to reports, the city council member said, “We have deficits we’re going to need to address. We have a homeless issue that we still need to address. We have a lot of big issues, and this is the number one thing we came out with?” Kalmick said, comparing it to his child’s fourth-grade project.” He added, “This is not something we should be doing.”
The 2024 calendar will look differently in this town
Kathie Schey, the chair of the Historic Resources Board, resigned and commented, “I was thunderstruck when I received a copy of the current agenda.” She added, “God knows I’m all about celebrating history, but this is just peculiar.” Mayor Gracey Van Der Mark allegedly left out Women’s History Month, Pride Month, and Black History Month in the town’s 2024 calendar.
