Today, the small California community of Palm Desert is considering a proposal from Mayor Pro Tem Joe Pradetto to stop recognition of pride month. In an interview with News Channel 3, Pradetto said:
“My goal is to create unity in our community and the formula for unity is simple, and it’s common sense. When you focus on differences, you get division, and when you focus on similarities, you get unity and that’s what I’m trying to do.”
State Assemblyman Greg Wallis has spoken out against the decision, writing in a statement on Saturday:
“Pride month recognition doesn’t create division, it affirms that every resident deserves to be celebrated and respected.”
Palm Springs Pride has also released a statement calling out Pradetto. In it they write:
“Palm Desert is not Palm Springs. Let’s be geographically clear, we are 12 miles apart. The proposal by Palm Desert Mayor Pro Tem Joe Pradetto, and supported by The Mayor, to eliminate the city’s official recognition of Pride Month and remove the city’s Pride banner is not an effort towards “neutrality”; it is a shortsighted political maneuver that prioritizes grandstanding over local representation.”
