6 Council Members Who Deserve Praise

The U.S. Constitution was put to the test last weekend at the Gay Pride Festival in Santa Ana’s Centennial Regional Park, and the bedrock of American rights again proved its ability to survive in the streets.

Yes, there were confrontations between the gays who gathered for the festival and fundamentalist Christians who opposed the event. And one of the several shouting matches between the more militant members of each group unfortunately erupted into a fist-swinging melee that led to the arrest of six people from both groups.

But the gay community was able to stage its event, and people opposed to it were able to voice their objections (and the city council met its legal obligation to treat all applicants for park permits equally).

In the aftermath of the festival and all the controversy it has generated, it is important now to put things into a proper perspective.

What must not be overlooked is that the festival itself, aside from the fracas outside, was peaceful. A small number of people from each side should have behaved more maturely, but the festival must not be judged by the foolish actions of the few who wrongly courted confrontation.

Nor should the community support the misguided move to recall the six members of the City Council who had the wisdom and backbone to do their duty.

The recall is being pushed by the Rev. Louis P. Sheldon, who heads the Anaheim-based Coalition on Traditional Values. Sheldon threatened the Santa Ana City Council with a recall election if its members refused to sign his “pro-family” resolution, which sought to ban the festival from the park.

After the city attorney told the council that revoking the permit the city had issued would be blatant discrimination against the festival sponsors, council members, with John Acosta dissenting, refused to rescind city approval to use the park. So Sheldon and his followers are now seeking the recall of all council members, except Acosta. No public official should face a recall threat for refusing to trample on the U.S. Constitution.

Councilwoman Patricia A. McGuigan focused on the real issue when, in viewing the festival, she said she had no regrets about allowing it because “freedom of assembly and freedom of speech is what it is all about.”

McGuigan’s summation was a far more responsible reaction to the event than that of Acosta, who said he could not blame the fundamentalist Christians for being upset at the gays.

“I probably would have been in jail today for clobbering some of those sick people,” Acosta remarked. His remark is a shameful display of verbal gay-bashing that exposes an inexcusable attitude of prejudice by a public official. His remark was condemned as “inflammatory” Thursday by the Orange County Human Relations Commission, which asked Acosta to publicly disavow violence against gays and lesbians.

Acosta is obligated to uphold the law, not support those who break it and condone the physical assault of people whose life style he does not like. He went too far, and possibly prompted future violence, by indicating that if he were there he “probably” would have done some “clobbering” too.

The other six members of the council, in the face of irrational and intense pressure, more properly recognized and preserved everyone’s rights. For that they deserve respect, not recall.