OC supervisors back LGBTQ Pride Month after heated bickering

A week after Orange County supervisors voted to only fly flags for the federal, state and county governments — following a proposal to raise the Pride flag for the LGBTQ community — the supervisors approved a resolution Tuesday backing Pride Month, but only after a bruising debate marred by personal attacks.

June is Pride Month, which the county board has supported with routine votes in past years, but the acrimony from last week’s heated dispute over the flag policy spilled over into the Pride Month resolution on Tuesday.

“My understanding is last year we moved forward with it,” Supervisor Vince Sarmiento said. “I don’t know if there’s a change of heart on that. … But I think here … my intent is to just celebrate Pride Month.”

Sarmiento noted when he was mayor of Santa Ana the city held Pride Month parades.

“There were parents there like me who were supporting their children who are queer or gay and there’s nothing wrong with that,” Sarmiento said.

But he said rising bigotry against the LGBTQ community has made the issue a “public health crisis. They’ve been subjected to hate crimes and a lot of victimization.”

Like last week, multiple speakers in the audience backed or opposed the resolution.

Supervisor Katrina Foley — replying to one heckler demanding statistics about local hate crimes against the LGBTQ community — said, “Eighty-three percent increase in hate crimes toward our LGBTQ+ community in the last year. And that’s documented by the office of Human Relations that our board voted unanimously to support.”

Foley told detractors who cited the country’s founders, “When the founders formed America they didn’t even recognize I, as a woman, had any rights.”

Foley accused some of the critics of the resolution of “hateful, mean words” from residents who “lectured us to be kind.”

“Are you kidding me? You are so hateful and mean you don’t even know how you are impacting people in this room with your unkind words,” Foley said. “This item was brought forward last year and we unanimously approved Pride Month last year, so I don’t know what’s changed except the hate toward our LGBTQ community.”

Board Chairman Don Wagner replied, “What has changed is not a change of heart on this board. … What we’ve seen is a change of the tactics on the left and some in the community pushing resolutions like this — that’s where the change is.”

Wagner noted that a transgender activist posed topless at President Joe Biden’s Pride celebration at the White House, and he demanded that Foley and Sarmiento say if they would condemn the action.

“I think your question is beyond the scope of what’s being asked for here,” Sarmiento replied. “I don’t see much of a nexus.”

Orange County Supervisor Doug Chaffee, who backed the new flag policy, said he supported the resolution recognizing Pride Month. Chaffee said he received “bullying” responses to his decision to back the new flag policy and encouraged the county’s residents to be more kind to each other.

Vice Chairman Andrew Do said in the 16 years he has served the county as the chief of staff of another supervisor and his time on the board the county has supported Pride Month.

“We have always recognized Pride Month,” Do said. “We are a tolerant county. We have always been tolerant.”

Do recalled watching Pride Day events in San Francisco when he was a law school student in the 1980s.

“But I agree with Chairman Wagner that the difference is it (used to) happen in an isolated community and now it’s mainstream,” Do said. “It’s gotten bigger and we know more about it now.”

Do said Pride Month activities “have been hijacked by a few who have a political agenda. But Pride Month is by itself a different thing. It’s showing acceptance and tolerance. … It’s been twisted. It’s been hijacked.”

Do said he was upset that the adoption of the new flag policy was characterized as a ban on the Pride flag.

“It was to preserve the sanctity of our government function,” Do said of the new policy. “We don’t want to put our thumb on the scale to support any one group.”

Foley retorted that it was Do’s timing that made the move so inflammatory.

“Respectfully, Vice Chair Do, and you know that I have great respect for you and your work for the county, but if you brought it up at any other time than on the heels of Wagner denying our request for a Pride flag it wouldn’t have seemed connected,” Foley said. “But even Chairman Wagner admitted that was what it was about.”

Foley added, “Maybe you got duped, but it was obvious to me Chairman Wagner orchestrated the whole thing.”

Wagner fired back at Foley that, “You teed up a divisive issue.”

During a back-and-forth about who had the floor to speak, Wagner said, “You don’t get the floor to lie, you are absolutely lying about what happened.”

Foley said Wagner wanted to try to accuse her of lying and not let her “present the receipts” to counter his allegation.

“You may continue spouting,” Wagner angrily responded.

“That is completely disrespectful,” Foley said. “You are the most disrespectful person.”

Chaffee called the question to “dispense with the bickering,” and it led to a unanimous support for the resolution backing Pride Month.