California official declares July “Straight Pride American Month”
Ted Hickman claims his words were tongue-in-cheek, but he now faces calls to resign
A California public official is facing demands to step down after calling for a “Straight Pride American Month.”
Vice Mayor Ted Hickman of Dixon, California, published an article on his personal blog and in local paper Independent Voice declaring July as a month to celebrate heterosexuality.
Describing Pride month as “LGBTQF-WTF month,” Hickman wrote in his article: “Now before anyone gets their pantyhose in a knot, this is not really legally anti anything; instead it’s pro-family; and proud to be a straight American, and me expressing a private opinion… So there!”
He added: “Now hundreds of millions of the rest of us can celebrate our month, peaking on July 4, as healthy, heterosexual, fairly monogamous, keep our kinky stuff to ourselves, Americans… We do it with our parades in every state and county in this country with families celebrating together.”
He also said that Gay Pride is an “inferior complex” and heterosexuals can show honor for America with “actual real pride.”
“We ARE different from them…We work, have families, (and babies we make) enjoy and love the company (and marriage) of the opposite sex and don’t flaunt our differences dressing up like fairies and prancing by the thousands in a parade in nearby San Francisco to be televised all over the world,” he said.
In an interview with The Sacramento Bee, Hickman defended the article, saying: “It was tongue-in-cheek and had nothing to do with my elected position” and added that only “thin-skinned people took offense.”
City councilman Devon Minnema released a statement on Facebook calling Hickman’s column “deeply disturbing.”
“I have known what kind of person he is for a long time, but have never garnered enough community or council support to take action,” Minnema wrote. “I hope that the other councilmen will see through the ideology of hate that they share with him, and do the right thing in coming weeks. There is no part of the community that is untouched by the venom that Councilman Hickman has spewed over the years.”
This op-ed has led to citizens creating a Facebook page to recall the official called “Recall Ted Hickman.” The page released a statement directed toward Mayor Thom Bogue, calling this a “human rights issue.”
“What do you plan to do to ensure your LGBTQ constituents (and their sons and daughters), current and future residents of Dixon, are safe from this brand of bigotry,” they wrote. “Op ed pieces such as Hickman’s can lend themselves to an increase in self harm ideation amongst LGBTQ individuals. How does hate reconcile with public office, especially in light of state statutes that strictly prohibit such behavior?”
A protest is being planned at the next Dixon City Council on July 10th, calling for Hickman to step down from his position.
The next @CityofDixonCA council meeting is July 10th @ 6pm 600 East A St if you happen to disagree with Vice Mayor Ted Hickman’s homophobic rant. We are all the same- Everybody say “LOVE!” #thanksRu #UpBayPride pic.twitter.com/fsykxulydT
— Quinten Voyce (@QuintenVoyce) June 30, 2018
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