The Olathe City Council has not issued a Pride Month proclamation this year, and some Olathe residents are asking why.
During the city council’s Tuesday meeting, several people attended, some wearing visible signs of support for the LGBTQ community.
A handful spoke during the designated public comment period about the lack of official recognition for the event, which occurs each June and is aimed at celebrating the LGBTQ community.
“I think of my wife of 32 years and our 16-year-old son, who has fellow students here who are impacted by hate, and all the LGBTQIA community who live with no acknowledgement, and I have got to be honest, it burns me up,” Kate Guimbellot, an Olathe resident, said of the lack of a Pride Month proclamation.
“My heart breaks for the many other Olathe citizens who still count on their elected officials to stand up for them.”
What is a proclamation?
Proclamations are typically issued and read by mayors or a representative for the mayor. They tend to be ceremonial and symbolic, recognizing a celebration, event or other positive items of community interest.
The Olathe City Council usually announces proclamations toward the start of meetings in the “special business” section, alongside awards, recognitions and appointments to volunteer boards.
For example, Olathe Mayor John Bacon read a proclamation for Asian American Pacific Islander Heritage Month in May. At Tuesday’s meeting, he also issued a proclamation for Juneteenth, a federal holiday.
So far this year, city councils in Overland Park, Lenexa, Roeland Park and Leawood have all issued proclamations for or officially recognized June as Pride Month in some way.
But agenda archives online show Olathe has not issued a proclamation for LGBTQ Pride going back at least to 2016.
Mayor says Pride Month proclamation is “too political and divisive”
In his public remarks on Tuesday, Mayor Bacon suggested the lack of a proclamation for Pride Month on the agenda was a timing issue.
“If we did a proclamation for everything, we would be here doing special business way too long in my view,” Bacon said.
He also said that he sees Olathe as “an inclusive community,” adding that “we welcome all of our residents.”
“Hopefully, you don’t feel like you’re not welcome because the mayor may or may not have a proclamation,” Bacon said.
However, in an email exchange with a resident obtained by the Post, Bacon said:
“I will not be issuing a Pride Month proclamation. I believe it’s too political and divisive, which goes against the spirit of our proclamations.”
Olathe councilmembers voice support for LGBTQ+ residents
Still, even without a public proclamation, some councilmembers used their own comment period during Tuesday’s meeting to express their support of the LGBTQ+ community in Olathe.
“Certainly we want Olathe to be a place that no matter who you are, who you love, who you worship, you can raise a family here, you can open a business here, and you can retire here,” Councilmember Matt Schoonover said.
Councilmember Dean Vakas also spoke up, applauding Olathe’s broad population diversity.
“We all know there’s strength in our diversity. Our LGBTQ+ population is part of the diversity that helps make Olathe a better place,” he said.
Additionally, Councilmember Marge Vogt nodded to the city’s nondiscrimination ordinance, which offers protections for LGBTQ residents.
The ordinance was adopted in 2019 following a period of lengthy and at times fraught debate that resulted in an ethics investigation into a now-former councilmember.
“All voices of our citizens are important,” Vogt said, encouraging people to be engaged in the upcoming comprehensive planning process for the city’s future.
Schoonover, Vakas and Vogt’s remarks were met with audience applause Tuesday night.
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