Los Altos Community Reverses Ban on Gay Proclamations

The Los Altos City Council has rescinded a ban on city proclamations having anything to do with sexual orientation. The city council passed the original ban in February, after the Los Altos High School Gay Straight Alliance asked the council to proclaim a Los Altos Gay Pride Day.

The July 25, 2006 reversal followed an extensive campaign by a diverse coalition of Los Altos residents, students, business owners, and supporters of LGBT equality.  Community members worked closely with the ACLU and attorneys Amy Todd and Tamara Fisher of Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati.

Over 50 local business owners petitioned the council to end the “embarrassing” rule, and  students and other concerned residents organized to oppose the ban, aided by ACLU support.  Members of the Los Altos High School Gay Straight Alliance played a key role.

Responding to the community campaign, the Los Altos City Council voted unanimously to reverse itself.  The new rule simply says the mayor can issue any proclamation to a local resident, organization, or event without formal action of the council, though proclamation requests can be referred to the council for a vote at the mayor’s discretion.

Under the new rule, the Los Altos High School Gay/Straight Alliance is free to ask for a Gay Pride Day proclamation again next year, and they expect to do so.

The city council’s decision also followed the implied threat of a lawsuit when the ACLU and Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati filed a Public Records Act request for city council documents related to the proclamation process.

Tamara Lange, ACLU-NC Staff Attorney, added, “We are pleased with the council’s decision. But we’re going to be watching to make sure the new rule is applied equally.”