POLK COUNTY, Fla. (WFLA) — A proclamation that for five years passed without any controversy or discussion was rejected after three commissioners said the commission had no place proclaiming support for the LGBTQ+ community.
“I believe we shouldn’t be adopting proclamations regarding lifestyle choices from this point forward,” said Commissioner Neil Combee.
Commissioner Combee moved to have the LGBTQ+ Pride Month proclamation taken off the “consent agenda” and onto the regular agenda so commissioners could discuss.
Commissioners Bill Braswell and Rick Wilson also objected to the proclamation.
“I’ve had about enough of this. I don’t think it’s our place to be doing whatever to promote this,” said Wilson.
“It’s gone too far. It’s at the point of being silly,” said Braswell during the meeting.
While speaking with News Channel 8 Thursday, both Commissioners Combee and Braswell took issue with recognizing people who are transgender.
“Now people are trying to tell our children that men can get pregnant,” said Combee.
Braswell said transgender people have mental health issues that “need to be dealt with.”
“You don’t believe a man can have a baby, do you? I mean, a Chihuahua can’t become a pitbull,” Braswell said.
The proclamation is intended to show support for LGBTQ+ constituents in the county.
“How would they feel to know their elected officials didn’t do this proclamation?” asked reporter Staci DaSilva.
“Everybody knows the score. Everybody knows what’s going on here. This is about pushing an agenda that we don’t want pushed on us. This is our first line in the sand, so to speak. If they want to be trans, if they want to be gay, keep doing what you’re doing but don’t expect us to say ‘Hey you’re ok’,” said Braswell.
The proclamation was submitted by Scott Guira, president of Polk Pride.
He says his proclamation is not controversial and he is disappointed not only in the result of the proclamation but also the conversation around it.
“They took their own personal biases and they used that against anybody in the county who feels differently than them and that’s not really their role. Their role is to represent everybody,” said Guira. “It spoke of their ignorance and misunderstanding of people who are living in this county who are part of this community, who are their constituents that they just believe that these people are not as valid, that they’re not important.”
Commissioners Martha Santiago and George Lindsey did not object to the LGBTQ+ proclamation.
“I have constituents that I must respect, whether I agree with them or not, but I must respect what they feel,” said Santiago.
Commissioner Lindsey read the first paragraph of the proclamation out loud.
“‘People of diverse cultures, races, creeds, genders, and sexual identities must work together toward peace and understanding each other’. I think there’s nothing offensive about that to me,” he said. “We make it as divisive as we choose to make it divisive or we can make it as homogenous as we need to.”
The City of Lakeland read its LGBTQ+ proclamation this week.
Other cities and towns rejected their LGBTQ+ proclamations, according to the Lakeland Ledger.
Guira says he will be back next year, submitting an LGBTQ+ proclamation for Pride month.
“Next year, they can anticipate receiving it in their email again and they can anticipate us continuing to show up. Polk Pride, the LGBTQ+ community is not going to be put back into any closet,” said Guira.
He says he is working with Lakeland Police to have enhanced security at all their upcoming week-long events that begin Saturday, June 10.
He anticipates a larger turnout than ever.
“We’ve had a lot of allies reach out to us that have never attended a pride event before and this will be their first year. They know that their voice matters. It’s important that they’re here, they stand up, they stand beside LGBTQ+ people,” said Guira.
