Instinct has previously reported on the upcoming ‘Straight Pride Parade’ in Boston on August 31. But now, homophobic folks on the other side of the country in California are attempting to hold their own faux ‘Pride’ event.
Working under the name “National Straight Pride Coalition,” the organizers say they plan to “celebrate heterosexuality, masculinity-femininity, babies-born and unborn, Western civilization, our wonderful country, Christianity.” Their official website says they want to prevent “all races and colors from being destroyed by the inherent malevolence of the Homosexual Movement.”
These kinds of events are viewed by many as an attempt to mock annual LGBTQ Pride events held across the country.
Organizers have applied for a permit to hold their ‘Straight Pride’ rally on August 24th in Modesto’s Graceada Park.
But the gay son of one of the organizers told the Modesto Bee he will ask City Council members to not issue the permit for the event.
Matthew Mason is the adopted and estranged son of Mylinda Mason, one of the organizers of the event. He told the Modesto Bee, “We don’t want hate in Modesto. I am making sure Modesto is not a place for hate speech.”
“They believe Western Civilization should be straight, white and Christian with a very specific gender binary,” he explained. “They believe this should be a culture war. It’s rhetoric I’ve heard my whole life.”
The 28-year-old adds that he has no problem with people celebrating ‘straight pride’ in earnest, but adds, “You don’t have to say that means (LGBTQ+ community members) are deviants. You can be Christians, but you don’t have to dictate that people in the LGBTQ+ community are not Christians. You can celebrate Western Civilization without saying, ‘West is best.’”
Matthew is currently planning a candlelight vigil to protest the ‘Straight Pride’ event. He also plans on addressing the Modesto City Council to urge it not to allow the event “because it has the potential for violence.”
Matthew’s biological mother, Kristi Ah You, is a Modesto City Council member. She told the local CBS News affiliate that the city will probably not grant a permit to the event because the event would constitute hate speech.
