A Pride Proclamation & The Ongoing Fight

The Pride of Holly Springs proclamation remains a spur in the LGBTQIA+ Community Fight

Back on June 6th, Holly Springs mayor Sean Mayefskie signed a proclamation called Pride of Holly Springs and for the past few weeks it has spurred another year of protests.

The issue is the proclamation doesn’t mention: sexual orientation, gay, lesbian, LGBT, LGBTQIA+, rainbows or even Pride month.

Here’s a look at it.

This proclamation comes about a year after the town decided not to participate in Pride month in 2022 nor sign the Wake County Non-Discrimination Ordinance. The proclamation also comes just months after the similarly written Discrimination Resolution.

Earlier in June, a protest was held outside of one of the town council’s meetings about the proclamation. June 20th was the first time people could go on record about the proclamation. Those who spoke ranged from residents to a psychologist. Each spoke passionately about why the mayor should change the wording to be more inclusive. The psychologist included statistics about suicide rates and the fear the queer community now feels due to the proclamation.

Following the public comment period, councilmembers can talk about any topic. Councilman Shaun McGrath took a word from the public comment period — sacrifice — to highlight the importance of July 4 and Councilman Aaron Wolff got in the last word.

For context, the two neighboring towns of Apex and Fuquay-Varina celebrated the queer community with festivals.