Pride Month battle divides South Valley town

(Joe Ybarra Reporting)

A battle over gay rights in the South Valley after a proclamation calling for a Pride Month in Porterville was rescinded.

The community is still split over the decision and gay rights advocates say they're hurt, but the fight isn't over.

Brock Neeley and John Coffee feel cheated. They have been fighting for the proclamation that declared June 2013 as Pride Month in Porterville.

In a meeting Tuesday night, it was rescinded and replaced by a much broader resolution.

"They just don't care about a portion of their community. They don't care if they're harassed, bullied, they don't care," said Neeley.

Dennis Townsend was at the meeting. He's been against the proclamation since the beginning and says the city did the right thing. "Thankfully there are still towns like Porterville that will have people brave enough willing to stand up to the opposition... Sexuality is a private thing, not something government need to be getting involved in," said Townsend.

Vice mayor Pete McCracken was also against the proclamation, not for what it represented, but because of the way it came about. The mayor of Porterville passed the proclamation without any signatures from city council members.

McCracken also isn't happy with the wording of the resolution that called June - 'A month of community charity and goodwill to all in the city'. "Not everyone in Porterville is caring and mindful of each other and I had problems with that," said McCracken.

Neeley and Coffee say they are not giving up and are considering taking legal action. "I look forward to the day when Porterville is just as progressive as any other city in the Valley."

In Tuesday's meeting, city council members also voted to change the way future proclamation are passed.