Editorial: LGBTQ+ rights, under attack, must be voiced loudly
The multicolored crosswalks in downtown Fairfax and Sausalito are hard to miss.
The rainbow-hued works – one across Broadway in Fairfax and another across Bridgeway in Sausalito – are visible, timely, strong signs of the community’s support for human rights.
In some places, those rights are being marginalized because they are members of the LGBTQ+ community, nonbinary or living with AIDS.
The crosswalks are a clear statement of support at a time when, in other parts of our nation, politicians push to erode those rights, banning school books and classroom instruction that by name or inference refers to gender identity or sexual orientation.
In Florida, Gov. Ron DeSantis has led a cultural war against LGBTQ+ rights. Over the past year, he has waged a public war against Disney, which refused to follow DeSantis’ so-called “Don’t Say Gay” agenda.
In response, DeSantis – who is running to be the 2024 Republican candidate for president – has worked to undermine Disney’s property rights in Orlando, criticizing it as a “woke” corporation and claiming the iconic entertainment giant supports “sexualizing kids in kindergarten.”
Similar legislation has been advanced in other states, including Missouri and Texas.
Unfortunately, over the weekend, 15 demonstrators, some with Nazi flags, stood outside of Disney World, joining others who waved flags and signs showing their support for DeSantis.
The demonstration demands a strong rebuke. Some LGBTQ+ residents in states advancing legislation feel forced to look for homes elsewhere. In their view, apprehensions are being confirmed and they no longer feel safe.
Meanwhile, in San Francisco, the city named D’Arcy Drollinger as its first drag laureate. In a position found nowhere else across the nation, Drollinger now serves as an ambassador for San Francisco’s LGBTQ+ and drag community. The term lasts 18 months.
The crosswalks in Fairfax and Sausalito, as well as commitments by Marin municipalities to fly the rainbow pride flag during June, are signs of action needed to counter the cultural attacks going on in other states.
They are signs of support and tolerance. They are signs of respect for the human rights of others, inclusion over exclusion, diversity over division and a political will aimed at ending marginalization of those who may not fit the traditional lifestyle molds that most follow.
Marin’s rainbow crosswalks counter the cultural agendas of DeSantis and his supporters.
“Actions like this show that Marin towns celebrate our community and recognize the importance of visibly honoring Pride month,” said Fel Agrelius, former director of programs at the Spahr Center, a Corte Madera nonprofit that serves the LGBTQ+ community.
Given the political reality that the rights of this segment of our community are under attack in other parts of our country, it is important to show support for their rights. It needs to be voiced loud, clear, and of course, colorfully.
Those crosswalks are intentionally a parade of colors and a message that’s hard to miss.