Mayor Nicholas Abawasili issued a proclamation at the City of Marion council meeting Thursday declaring June Pride Month and urging residents to “eliminate prejudice wherever it exists” and to “build a community where all people belong and are valued.”

The proclamation tied the month to the Stonewall riots of June 1969 and said the city “welcomes and accepts all people of diverse sexual orientations, gender identities, and gender expressions.”

At the public forum, resident Anna Clymer, who identified herself as a Marion taxpayer, praised the proclamation and said celebration without “consistent protection rings hollow.” She urged the council and city institutions to adopt and maintain concrete protections and policies that guarantee safety and dignity for LGBTQ+ residents “every day and in every space.”

“Pride is a reminder of the ongoing struggle for equality,” Clymer said. “When policies and practices fail to protect LGBTQ+ community members or when institutions remove protections or inclusion initiatives prematurely, it sends a harmful message that their existence and rights are negotiable.”

Council members and staff earlier credited the Civil Rights Commission and Parks and Recreation for a rainbow light display in the Uptown Marion Alleyway and thanked volunteers and staff for the display. The remarks at the meeting did not include a motion or ordinance to create new protections; the items recorded were ceremonial and announcements.

The proclamation and Clymer’s comments were presented during the meeting’s agenda and public forum portions; no vote or formal policy change accompanied the proclamation. Council members who spoke praised the public display and encouraged continued outreach and protections, but no specific follow-up actions were proposed or adopted during the session.

The council did not introduce or adopt an ordinance or resolution at this meeting to implement the legal protections Clymer described. Any future policy changes would require staff proposals and formal council action at a subsequent meeting.