Lance Rhodes is one of two openly gay members of the East Point City Council. Mayor Joseph Bacon will proclaim July 7 as LGBT Pride Day in the city. (File photo)
The
City
of
East
Point
will
officially
declare
July
7
“LGBT
Pride
Day”
in
East
Point.
City
Council
members
have
approved
a
resolution
honoring
the
progress
made
since
the
Stonewall
riots
and
calling
for
further
rights
for
gay,
lesbian,
bisexual
and
transgender
people.
In
part,
a
draft
of
the
resolution
states:
“We
stand
with
the
LGBT
community
and
commit
ourselves
to
working
together
to
build
a
city
that
is
truly
inclusive.
Every
citizen
has
the
right
to
live
in
dignity,
with
equal
rights,
responsibilities
and
protections
under
the
law
…
Yet
many
challenges
still
lie
before
us.
As
we
have
learned
from
recent
tragedies,
prejudice
against
gays
and
lesbians
can
still
erupt
into
acts
of
hatred
and
violence.
I
continue
to
call
upon
the
city
of
East
Point
to
provide
leadership
in
eliminating
all
areas
of
prejudice
and
discrimination.”
“It
is
something
that
has
been
done
periodically
over
the
years,”
City
Councilman
Kevin
Hudson
said
of
the
Gay
Pride
proclamation.
“East
Point
has
had
continual
representation
on
the
council
by
gay
men,
coincidentally
it
has
been
all
men,
for
about
a
decade.”
Hudson
and
Councilmember
Lance
Rhodes
are
both
openly
gay
members
of
the
City
Council.
Mayor
Joseph
Bacon
will
sign
the
proclamation.
“The
great
thing
is
the
fact
that
there
has
been
so
many
gay
officials
over
the
years
is
that
being
gay
isn’t
an
issue,”
Hudson
said.
East
Point
offers
a
domestic
partnership
registry,
domestic
partner
benefits
to
city
workers
and
includes
sexual
orientation
in
the
city’s
nondiscrimination
policy.
It
also
hosts
a
popular
drag
show,
the
East
Point
Possums,
which
often
includes
appearances
by
city
officials
as
well
as
members
of
the
police
and
fire
departments.
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