Los Altos council rejects Gay Pride Day Los Altos council rejects Gay Pride Day (May 21, 2004)

High school students not happy with 'Tolerance Day' alternative

By Julie O'Shea

The debate over gay rights landed in Los Altos last week, when a divided city council rejected a request by a group of Los Altos High School students to make June 7 "Gay Pride Day."

City leaders said they feel the "conservative," "religious" citizens of Los Altos aren't ready to embrace such a proclamation. And Mayor John Moss went on to say that he personally knows many people who consider gays and lesbians "perverts," speculating that there would have been negative backlash had the council approved Gay Pride Day.

So instead, the five-member governing body voted 4-1 in favor of declaring June 7 "Tolerance Day."

"Rather than cause a lot of controversy and unhappiness on council, I thought I would support Tolerance Day this year," said Moss during a phone interview on Tuesday. At the meeting, he had originally said he supported Gay Pride Day but later changed his mind during heated council exchange.

Moss said he isn't against Gay Pride Day or homosexuals; however, after listening to the arguments of two council members, he decided the proclamation wasn't a good idea.

"That's a pretty harsh thing to do to students," said Juan Barajas, director of Outlet, a Mountain View-based gay youth advocacy group. "Calling it 'Tolerance Day' is ignoring what the students wanted -- it's a cop out, basically."

Indeed, the vote surprised many students in Los Altos High School's Gay-Straight Alliance club, who had asked the mayor for the proclamation a month ago.

Tolerance Day is "not what we went to the council trying to accomplish," said club president Alison Tarbell, a graduating senior at Los Altos High. "This has nothing to do with us. I don't think it is a negative thing. I just don't think that was our message.

"We don't want a parade," Tarbell added. "We just want this day to say, 'yeah, we're here.'"

Council member David Casas said he believes Tolerance Day and Gay Pride Day are one and the same. However, he added that he would not vote for Gay Pride Day unless it was amended to Tolerance Day, which he feels is more encompassing.

"We made it a broader topic, which I feel is important," Casas said. "This can serve as a catalyst for constructive discussion throughout all the community."

But high school students said Casas and his colleagues missed the point.

"I think it's a shame," said Hector Medina, a Los Altos High senior and treasurer of the Gay-Straight Alliance club. "We are very disappointed. They would have made history if they had passed it."

Los Altos High Principal George Perez is staying out of the debate, saying, "We already have a whole week of tolerance here. ... The city government and what happens at school are two separate things."

The Gay-Straight Alliance club had a sit-down discussion with Moss a month ago. It was during this meeting that the group asked the mayor to consider a proclamation for Gay Pride Day. Students said Moss seemed in favor of the proclamation then, but said he would have to take it before the full council for a vote since it involved "political and religious issues."

But when it came up for discussion at the May 11 council meeting, it was met with sharp opposition from Casas and Council member Ron Packard. Moss, and Council members King Lear and Curtis Cole, all said they'd be in favor of the proclamation. But Lear said he wanted a unanimous vote on this issue and asked if he could get Casas and Packard's support if he amended the proclamation to "Tolerance Day." Casas and Packard were agreeable, and the vote was 4-1, with Cole dissenting because he didn't feel this was what students wanted.

A few minutes after the vote, Lear asked the council to reconsider the issue. He said in a phone interview this week that he felt bad he had even suggested amending the proclamation to Tolerance Day.

Lear said he thought he, Cole and Moss would vote in favor of Gay Pride Day, and it would pass on a 3-2 vote. But Moss said Casas and Packard convinced him this would not be a good move for the Los Altos community and voted against reconsidering Gay Pride Day.

Tolerance Day will be held June 7 in Los Altos. No events in honor of the day have been planned yet.

E-mail Julie O'Shea at joshea@mv-voice.com

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