NORTHGLENN, Colo. — In a tense meeting Tuesday night, the Northglenn City Council voted to censure two of its own members after they walked out during a Pride Month proclamation.
The council voted 7-0 to censure members Tim Long and Nicholas Walker. Long and Walker were not allowed to participate in the vote.
The proclamation happened in June, before a scheduled Pride event.
In a meeting earlier this month, Long said he opposed the event because he didn't want to spend money on what he called "special interest groups."
Monday night, Mayor Meredith Leighty said the proclamation had nothing to do with money.
Walker and Long defended themselves, saying they wouldn't be silenced or bullied.
"I would like to say that I won't be bullied or intimidated, and whether it's from a virtue-signaling email from the city staff or a hateful and vulgar message I received from a sitting DISE board member," Walker said.
"I believe I was bullied by First Amendment nonbelievers who judged me to have hate in my silence," Long said.
He said he was not bigoted because he had gay couples in his family. He said "cancel culture" had led to the outrage and censure.
Leighty said the vote wasn't about beliefs, but behavior -- both in the meeting they walked out of, and in other meetings since.
Several members of the city's Diversity, Inclusivity, and Social Equity Board called their comments hurtful and offensive and urged the council to vote to censure them.
"The message that'll be sent is that you are welcome here. You are safe here. We are making these gentlemen accountable for their actions, accountable for their words, and we stand beside you," DISE board member Christina Cimino said.
During Long's comments, he was frequently interrupted by the council's parliamentarian Becky Brown, who urged him to keep his comments on topic. Long fired back, calling her "clueless." She retorted she hoped he would resign.
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