Gay Parade Finds Support In Los Altos

LOS ALTOS, CALIFORNIA - Even before the "Bigotville, USA'' T-shirts went on sale this spring, a lot of the many pillars of the Los Altos community were mortified. Their city council's recent refusal to even consider a Gay Pride Day proclamation had thrown the quiet town uncomfortably into the national limelight.
Now a prominent group of civic leaders has come to the rescue of their city's reputation. The Los Altos Community Foundation board -- not exactly the radical fringe -- is championing efforts by the Los Altos High School Gay-Straight Alliance to hold a parade on Main Street in June, a clear challenge to Mayor Ron Packard and the council majority.
"All the kids wanted was something very simple,'' said Judy Hannemann, a trustee with the Mountain View-Los Altos High School District who sits on the foundation board. "It didn't even need a vote of the council. But making such a big deal of it was really hurtful.''
Hannemann is one of a dozen folks who gathered at the Los Altos Chamber of Commerce office one morning this week to plot strategy for getting a parade permit approved. The group, which calls itself the Los Altos Alliance for Youth, includes four former mayors -- King Lear, Roy Lave, Bob Grimm and Jim Thurber -- and the wife of a former mayor, Vicki Reeder. Ken Haukom, who runs the city's annual Festival of Lights parade, is providing technical assistance.
An effort to heal
The idea for a parade got rolling after the council voted in February to ban consideration of any proclamation relating to sexual orientation, ever.
"We felt the community had been split in half, and we wanted some healing,'' said Gay-Straight Alliance sponsor Ruth Gibbs.
Gibbs needed a non-profit organization to sponsor the parade in order to get a 50 percent break on the $12,000 cost. She was delighted when the community foundation stepped forward.
The foundation, a bunch of well-heeled folks from Los Altos and Los Altos Hills who raise money for local charities and throw great parties, represents a cross section of the local establishment. It has considerable weight to throw around.
The council is expected to take up the parade permit application on May 9. By then, the Alliance for Youth hopes to have Los Altos service clubs, school boards, businesses, religious groups and individuals behind it. With that kind of support, the backers hope, the council won't dare deny them a permit.
A free-speech issue
Mayor Packard says he'll respect the kids' free-speech rights and won't go out of his way to nix the parade. But he'd prefer that the event remain low-key. He's not wild about the idea of many out-of-towners and big-name politicians disrupting downtown life on a Sunday afternoon.
"I'm not gung-ho about it,'' he said. "I'd be more comfortable if it's more local and really supports the youth of our community. But if it's a political statement, then that's something different.''
Unfortunately for Packard, the political statement has been made. And he's the one who made it.
And now it's the community's turn to make a statement.
Former Mayor Lear said the parade will be orderly and dignified. A few floats, maybe a band or two, a couple of hundred people marching through downtown and ending with a rally in the plaza.
The group's goal is to educate the community about the needs of gay youth, not to create more controversy.
"We want people to really talk about these issues,'' Lear said.
"We're a quiet little town, but people here think.''
from The Mercury News