STOCKTON, Calif. — As Pride month comes to a close, the Pride flag waving over Stockton City Hall is set to come down after June 28.
LGBTQ+ activists say the fight to to get it up there in the first place was frustrating and "blown out of proportion."
"The last four years, it was a really easy... Not that there wasn’t any pushback, but it was quite simple in past years," said MichaelWayne Cozzins, with the San Joaquin County Pride Center.
On Wednesday, Cozzins led a group of activists in a march and rally in front of City Hall.
"To see that rainbow flag says I’m a part of that community," said Reverend Scott Hill, of Valley Ministries MCC.
City Council narrowly voted 4-3 to raise the flag at their June 20 council meeting.
People came by the dozen to offer public comment, including one speaker who called the Pride flag a "symbol of exclusivity and divisiveness, it has become a political tool of oppression.”
That sentiment was not uncommon among speakers, but city leaders who voted the measure down offered different reasons why.
Mayor Kevin Lincoln said the city wasn't following policy when it flew the flag over the last four years and joined the no votes.
While Lincoln said he had many friends and family in the LGBTQ+ community "that know I'm (he's) one of the most inclusive individuals, and they will tell you that."
"But they also will tell me that they do not expect you to stand and wave a flag," Lincoln added.
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