Why A Fight Over 'Safe Space' For LGBTQ Residents Is Roiling A City DEI Program

The San Gabriel City Council is facing some pushback for a proposal to eliminate its Human Equity, Access and Relations Commission, which was formed four years ago to address issues related to diversity and inclusion.

The move comes after the panel, known as HEAR, proposed a safe spaces program for the city’s LGBTQ community, which was later rejected by the council as “too narrow.”

Councilmember Denise Menchaca said at a council meeting last month that the commission, which was established in 2020 in the wake of protests over the murder of George Floyd by police in Minneapolis, had “run its course.”

“If we are going to start looking at social issues, as a mother, as a former school board member, I believe we are putting ourselves in a very compromising situation,” said Menchaca, who described herself as a founder of the HEAR Commission.

“It's time to redirect our limited staff resources to the delivery of social services like homelessness, like mental health, which is now a high priority,” she added.

Members of the commission have blasted the move.

“The timing of what happened is really a reaction to the [safe spaces] program,” Commissioner Viki Goto told LAist. “This was very shocking to have this really drastic move.”

She continued: “We’ve never had any pushback on any of the activities that the HEAR Commission has been involved with.”

The conflict appears to be the latest local flashpoint over the role of local government in promoting LGBTQ rights and safety.

The City Council is expected to consider the motion to eliminate the HEAR Commission at its Tuesday meeting.

'All Are Welcome' program sparks debate

The debate centers on a program dubbed “All Are Welcome,” first proposed by the HEAR Commission to the city council in February. The program grew out of a community survey conducted by HEAR in which 10% of respondents said the commission needed to address LGBTQ issues.

Goto said it ranked higher than any other issue.

The program is designed to identify “inclusive and welcoming” businesses “where people can feel comfortable being their authentic selves regardless of their sexual orientation, gender identity or gender expression,” according to a city document.

“The organization, business or area is also expected to be free of aggression, judgment and hate,” the document states.

Under the program, businesses and organizations wishing to participate would receive a video on LGBTQ rights and a rainbow-colored sticker in the shape of the San Gabriel Mission bell to display in their windows. The bell is the city’s logo.

But when the council took up the proposal, all five members appeared to balk. Menchaca called the program “too narrow.”

“I feel very uncomfortable that it is focused on LGBTQ,” she said at a Feb. 20 meeting. “There are so many other groups out there that are facing hate.”

Why a rainbow-colored bell is at issue

The bells of the San Gabriel Mission are a symbol of the city.

(

Laser1987/Getty Images/iStockphoto

/

iStockphoto

)

Menchaca also said she worried there could be a “backlash” against businesses that chose not to display the sticker. And she expressed concern about the Catholic Church’s reaction to the rainbow-colored bell.

The San Gabriel Mission is one of the most prominent landmarks in the city, which has a population of just over 38,000.

“Have we shown that logo with the bell to the mission?” she asked. “As a Catholic, I am proud of that.”

In an email to LAist last week, Menchaca said she is not anti-LGBTQ.

Other council members said they, too, were uncomfortable with a city program that focused only on the LGBTQ community. Councilmember John Wu said the city should “include more” communities, and Tony Ding noted there should be “zero tolerance” for any hate.

The council sent the proposal back to the HEAR Commission, where members expressed outrage.

At a Feb. 27 meeting, one member of the commission said the fact that council members didn’t see the need for a safe spaces program for the LGBTQ community proved that one was needed. In San Gabriel last June, rainbow flags were torn down at Gabrielino High School during LGBTQ Pride month.

“The council members completely missed the entire purpose of the program, and their arguments and their commentary demonstrated the critical need for this effort,” Commissioner Viki Goto said.

Commissioner Michelle Brenhaug agreed.

“I have friends in the community who are afraid to come out to their parents, their community, their friends in fear of being shunned and not accepted,” she said. “The loneliness and isolation that comes from that is huge.”

A 2023 survey by the Trevor Project that found 41% of LGBTQ young people 13 to 24 years old seriously considered attempting suicide in the past year. Young people who are transgender, nonbinary, and/or people of color reported higher rates than their peers.

A community 'under attack'

There's been an increase in anti-LGBTQ legislation around the country in recent years. In Southern California, for example, the Huntington Beach City Council voted 4-3 in February to ban the flying of the rainbow Pride and other non-government flags on city property. Huntington Beach voters put their stamp of approval on the prohibition a month later.

Last year, the Temecula Valley Unified School District approved a similar ban.

Brian Levin, founder of the Center for the Study of Hate and Extremism at Cal State San Bernardino, said such moves are spurred by the rise of the far right.

"Conflicts, like this one in San Gabriel, are part of a larger trend nationally, amplified by a concerted political effort by some on the far right to combat not only legal protections and social recognition of the LGBQTI community, but their related supportive allies, institutions and policies," Levin said. "Fortunately, California state law and government stand as an important tool for equality."

Goto, one of the HEAR commissioners in San Gabriel, pointed out that the Human Rights Campaign — a national LGBTQ civil rights group — declared a state of emergency in response to an unprecedented spike in anti-LGBTQ legislation across the country.

“This is exactly the community that is under attack,” she said.

Other HEAR commissioners responded to the city council’s concern that the panel's focus is too narrow and that other groups face hate, too.

“This is not a zero-sum game,” said Commissioner Cathie Chavez-Morris. “Creating a program that supports one identity does not inherently exclude others.”

The commissioners had discussed changing the name and logo of the All Are Welcome program, but they delayed any decisions on changes until a subsequent meeting.

Six days later, Menchaca introduced the motion to the city council to eliminate HEAR.

That drew sharp criticism from Goto.

“She’s clearly not considering her privileged position as a cisgender straight person who does not have to live with the toxic stress created by the current LGBTQ climate,” Goto said of Menchaca.

Since its inception, the five-member volunteer panel has promoted the AAPI Stop Hate initiative, activated the first unconscious bias training for city employees, and hosted mental wellness expos, according to a flier produced by supporters of HEAR.

In addition, it has promoted the need for translation of city documents into Mandarin, Spanish and Vietnamese. San Gabriel is 59% Asian American.