Salina Gay Pride Month

As a large crowd of supporters looked on, the month of June was officially declared “LGBT Pride Month” in Salina late Monday afternoon. Salina Mayor Aaron Householter signed the proclamation at the city commission meeting, after it was read by Gary Martens from the North Central Equality Kansas Chapter.

Householter is not the first Salina Mayor to show support for this type of issue. In April of 2013 Barb Shirley, who was the mayor of Salina at the time, joined a national group of mayors who support gay marriage. Shirley was the first Kansas Mayor to join more than 350 other mayors across the country as part of “Mayors for Freedom to Marry”.

In the spring of 2012 the Salina City Commission passed an ordinance adding sexual orientation and gender identity to the list of classes protected from discrimination in housing, employment and public accommodation in the city’s anti-discrimination policy. A petition campaign brought the issue to ballot in the 2012 November general election, where it was repealed.

Several citizens Monday spoke in support of the proclamation. No one spoke against it.

Many of the supporters attending the meeting were wearing gay pride Salina shirts. Following the meeting, supporters headed out “paint Santa Fe purple”. They gathered, and walked the sculpture tour downtown.

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