Great Falls, MONT
Mayor Proclaims He Won’t Proclaim Support for LGBTQ+ Community….
Early in June, the Great Falls Mayor Cory Reeves posted a statement on Facebook that he wouldn’t be issuing a proclamation for LGBTQ+ Month. And we’re still seeing the fallout on our town from the mayor’s clueless-at-best position.
Mayor Reeves’s Facebook proclamation that he’s not making a proclamation
Sure, I agree with the mayor that people should be “treated with equal respect and dignity without government interference in personal matters”. BUT ARE THEY?
Of course we know they are not. We all know that the LGBTQ+ community is marginalized, discriminated against, and faces continued stigma for just being who they are.
And Hate Speech Follows
Why didn’t Cory just stay silent and not issue a proclamation? Instead, he made it worse by openly refusing to make a proclamation of support. That clearly sends the message that our city government DOESN’T support the LGBTQ+ community. And like clockwork, bigots come crawling out of the woodwork. Affirming organizations, including our blog, are getting hate messages because we openly support actual “equality for all individuals” by speaking in support of the LGBTQ+ Community. The neo-nazi “wHitE LiVes MatTeR” crowd was emboldened to put up their racist and homophobic stickers in our town the night of June 15th. More than 60 anti-LGBTQ+ stickers and and dozens of racist white lives matter stickers were found throughout the downtown area. Below are some images of the hate-speech, lie-filled stickers.
Loser neo-nazi unsurprisingly spreads lies and hate speech stickers in Great Falls, Montana
Of course the neo-nazi who put up the stickers is still too big of coward to do it publicly. And yeah, Great Falls is NOT filled with bigots (nice strawman argument Rick Tryon, we never said it was). It is likely one or two fucking pieces of shit putting up those stickers. But that doesn’t stop the harm it causes.
Let this inspire those of us who don’t support hate
One person can have a huge impact. Love is Love! Put up a “Hate has NO home here” sign at your home, wear a rainbow. Be a visible ally. We can use more love in this world.
And Cory, if you’re reading this, you were wrong. You can own your mistake and issue a proclamation now. It won’t undo the harm you unleashed but it will be better than just letting the hate continue to froth up. Our community deserves better.
As a police officer and then an undersheriff, I’m quite surprised that Cory appears to have forgotten his diversity training. And that’s too bad, for he loses a lot of respect from the community. I too implore Cory to make amends and reverse his decision. It would send a major signal the he gets it, that he understands and appreciates everyone in our community for who they are. I’m sure he had to operate that way when he was in law enforcement, and he must continue that as mayor. It’s really bad form to give the haters the nod even inadvertently. Cory, if you read this, please consider making that change. Thanks in advance.
https://exudehc.com/blog/police-diversity-training/
Bravo Larry Kralj!