Todd Camp can remember when Fort Worth police officers raided the Rainbow Lounge in 2009, prompting a reckoning over gay rights in the city. He can remember the progress Fort Worth made toward acceptance of LGBTQ people in the years that followed, including establishing the LGBTQ Chief of Police and Fire Chief Luncheon.
On Tuesday night, however, Camp said the city took a step backward. He was among dozens gathered at the June 11 Fort Worth City Council meeting to celebrate the recognition of several LGBTQ-serving nonprofits 鈥� and lament the lack of a Pride proclamation from the full council.
鈥淚t seems like we鈥檙e starting to backtrack,鈥� Camp said.
Proclamations are written letters, read out during council meetings, that recognize events, individuals and milestones relevant to Fort Worth. In order for a proclamation to make it onto the council agenda, it must be .
During the past few years, the Fort Worth City Council has passed multiple proclamations recognizing June as Pride month, which highlights and celebrates the LGBTQ community. This year, however, several council members refused to sign the proclamation, including Alan Blaylock, Macy Hill and Charlie Lauersdorf. Council member Michael Crain, who was present remotely, did not respond to a request that he clarify whether he supported the proclamation, but he did not sign onto the certificates of recognition presented at council.
After the meeting, Blaylock said he鈥檚 supported Pride proclamations for the last two years, but had concerns over the level of specificity included in this one. He said he asked for the proclamation to be edited to be more general and inclusive of the entire LGBTQ community, rather than citing specific organizations.
Lauersdorf echoed Blaylock鈥檚 concerns and said he supports the LGBTQ community but didn鈥檛 feel comfortable signing off on this year鈥檚 Pride proclamation because it specifically recognized individual organizations rather than using broader language 鈥渁bout the people鈥� in the LGBTQ community.
Lauersdorf added that he was not familiar with several of the organizations that were named in the proclamation and didn鈥檛 feel comfortable in essentially endorsing them on behalf of the city and his district.
鈥淚 said if we can put together a proclamation that was just like last year, where it鈥檚 about the people as a whole, I鈥檇 100% support it, just like last year,鈥� Lauersdorf told the Report.
He added that he鈥檚 looking forward to learning more about the organizations recognized June 11 and is open to potentially endorsing a Pride proclamation at council鈥檚 June 25 meeting.
Hill could not be reached for comment before the time of publication.
The groups recognized in the proclamations have varied from year to year. In 2021, the Pride proclamation recognized LGBTQ Saves, an organization dedicated to support networks for LGBTQ youth and suicide prevention. In 2022, council members passed a proclamation recognizing city employees who represented the LGBTQ community.
Felipe Gutierrez, a longtime Fort Worth resident and leader in the LGBTQ community, drafted the 2024 proclamation. Gutierrez, former chair of the city鈥檚 , highlighted , , and .
Once it became clear the full council would not sign off on his proclamation, District 9 Council member Elizabeth Beck instead worked with city staff to draft individual certificates of recognition for the organizations included in the draft proclamation, with several additions. These included the and . The certificates, unlike proclamations, do not require complete consensus from council members.
鈥淚n Fort Worth, y鈥檃ll means all, and we鈥檙e proud to have you as members of our community,鈥� Beck said at the June 11 meeting. Mayor Mattie Parker and council members Gyna Bivens, Jeanette Martinez, Chris Nettles, Jared Williams and Carlos Flores joined Beck in supporting the certificates.
Blaylock said he has 鈥渘othing but love鈥� for the individual organizations that were given certificates of recognition, and said he鈥檚 open to continued dialogue with them.
Camp, who founded the LGBTQ history-focused YesterQueer, thanked council members for their support. He was in the council chambers in 2009 when people packed the seats following the Rainbow Lounge raid, he said, and he was in the building last year to speak to city employees about LGBTQ history in Tarrant County.
鈥淎nd I hope to be here next year when we get our Pride proclamation back, hopefully,鈥� he told council members.
, who serves on the board of Finn鈥檚 Place and represents District 11 on Fort Worth鈥檚 Human Relations Commission, said the city has both an ethical and legislative responsibility to create a safe and welcoming environment for Fort Worth residents.
Murray was among those who spoke out against the city鈥檚 decision to allow a on the 鈥渢he social contagion of transgenderism鈥� at a community center. He said he wants to continue working with city staff to establish an LGBTQ advisory subcommittee, which was given initial approval by the Human Relations Commission several months ago.
鈥�(It鈥檚) with the goal of city staff and City Council being able to consult a subcommittee of queer people about things that they might not understand,鈥� he said. 鈥淪o that things like the debacle and the , those kinds of things can be avoided in the future.鈥�
Nettles told those gathered that although he was disappointed there wasn鈥檛 a proclamation, he thought the opportunity to individually highlight all of the organizations through certificates was ultimately a win.
鈥淚 want you to know that Pride month is not over,鈥� Nettles said. 鈥淲e have another council meeting (this month), so we can figure out how we get to some type of consensus for a proclamation. We didn鈥檛 have time.鈥�
Camp said residents have been complacent in recent years, and they鈥檒l need to be on their guard to protect LGBTQ rights both locally and nationally. He pointed to people calling LGBTQ people 鈥済roomers鈥� of children as an example of old attacks becoming new again.
鈥淭his has all happened before,鈥� Camp said. 鈥淚t didn鈥檛 work then. It鈥檚 not going to work now. And yeah, we鈥檙e going to have some minor setbacks. You know, we may have some political losses around this, but I think ultimately, the pendulum will swing back. And we will be better for it.鈥�
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