For the fourth year in a row, the Grover Beach City Council voted in favor of flying the Pride flag during the month of June.

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• WORDS OF SUPPORT Councilmember Clint Weirick said it's important for the Grover Beach City Council to fly this flag over City Hall to let residents know they are welcome, safe, and supported in the city.

"I just want to give my full-hearted support of ... the Pride flag and just honor what recognition of that means for marginalized communities to see a symbol of welcome and inclusion flow and how impactful it is to be seen in the community in which you live, work, and play," Gala Pride and Diversity Center Executive Director Dusty Colyer-Worth said during public comment at the May 28 Grover Beach City Council meeting.

The flag will fly at City Hall next to the American Flag and the California Flag.

"I really want to recognize that flying the Pride flag along with our American flag in no way diminishes our amazing American flag and what it stands for, but it calls for that recognition and the pledge that we just did here today," Colyer-Worth added. "Liberty and justice for all until such a time as there is authentic liberty and justice for all, recognizing that there are communities that need equity—to be uplifted to that ideal and flown alongside that is deeply impactful."

While the City Council didn't discuss the issue before voting this year, during the May 22, 2023, council discussion about the Pride flag, Councilmember Daniel Rushing said the purpose of flying that flag was to elevate the city and celebrate its diversity.

"The fact that our first official flag for our new ordinance is a continuation of a long-standing tradition is wonderful," Rushing said at the time. "Flying the Pride flag sends a powerful message of inclusivity and support for the LGBTQ-plus community and it shows that our city both embraces diversity and its commitment to equal rights for all of our residents."

Also at the 2023 meeting, Councilmember Weirick said he remembered the first time the city flew the Pride flag in 2020 and overheard community members pleased by the support.

"I remember growing up where not even going down the alphabet but just the first two letters you were threatened with physical violence. There were no ands, ifs, or buts, about that, too. People coming out wasn't the norm for a safety thing," he said. "People farther down the alphabet still get that to this day, and I know people where that is their reality, so this is significant that we want this to be a safe space for them."

During the May 28, 2024, meeting, former Councilmember Mariam Shah—now a SLO County planning commissioner and director of public affairs for Planned Parenthood of the Central Coast—said she applauds the council for once again agreeing to fly the flag.

"We serve tons of LGBTQ-plus folks in our community. We're proud to stand with them, and that means standing with them here in this council chamber and when they're seeking health care," she said during public comment. "In the past couple years, there have been over 500 anti-LGBTQ-plus bills introduced, especially those affecting trans folks.

"So a government and a council willing to publicly fly a flag means something," Shah said. "It makes a difference." Δ