Several residents used the council's public-comment period to urge the Clayton Town Council to rescind a previously adopted proclamation recognizing LGBTQ Pride Month, calling the proclamation inappropriate for municipal government and expressing concern about perceived impacts on children.
Sherry Morgan, who said she had lived in Clayton since 1985, asked the council to "rescind the proclamation" and said she believed it "sets a dangerous precedent." Morgan told the council, "I love God and I love all people," and asked why a municipality would "enter into" what she called a moral agenda. She said she had contacted council members seeking their positions on the proclamation and said the proclamation could lead to activities she described as objectionable.
Other speakers including Britney Matthews, Steve Roy and Brent Heifel, who identified themselves as local church leaders or congregants, urged the council to take a similar step. Several speakers cited mental-health statistics about LGBTQ youth and criticized the proclamation as normalizing what they described as "abnormal behavior." "LGBTQ young people are more than 4 times as likely to attempt suicide than their peers," said Brent Heifel, citing findings from a mental-health organization; he urged the council to rescind the recognition and to prioritize what he described as moral guidance.
Speakers framed their comments as expressions of faith and concern for minors. No speaker at the meeting represented an LGBTQ advocacy group, and no council member announced any plan to rescind the proclamation during the meeting. Mayor Jody L. McLeod thanked speakers for their comments; the public-comment period closed with no formal action on the proclamation taken that evening.
The council did not debate or vote on the proclamation during this meeting, and the record shows the comments were part of the public-comment period rather than an agenda item requesting formal action.