St. Petersburg City Council member Corey Givens Jr. said this week he was OK adding language that included households led by same-sex couples to a proclamation recognizing June as “Inclusive Family and Faith” month.
But he skipped that part when reading the proclamation out loud Thursday, to the surprise of other council members.
They immediately called out Givens for not reading the proclamation correctly. Council member Deborah Figgs-Sanders read out the paragraph Givens skipped.
“I read that because I was an only mom for a very long time,” she said. “I was a single parent, and I want to make sure that all of our families, in any and every form, know that we are an inclusive city, and this proclamation celebrates everyone.”
Givens submitted a request for a proclamation to recognize June as Faith and Family Month. He did so on behalf of Christian groups that promote marriage as being between one man and one woman. Some representatives from those groups wearing “Faith and Family Month” T-shirts stood by Givens as he read the proclamation.
June is also recognized more widely in recent years as Pride Month, which the city celebrated by raising the St. Pete Pride flag above City Hall last week.
The original version submitted by Givens read similarly to proclamations recently recognized by the Pinellas County Commission and Gov. Ron DeSantis. Mayor Ken Welch signed the first version, but his administration changed the proclamation’s wording and title.
Givens did not explain why he skipped the paragraph on the dais.
“This was not meant to divert any attention from any one organization, one celebration or another, but the intent was to prove that we can love all God’s children and we can celebrate all God’s people all in the same,” he said.
Givens told the Tampa Bay Times that he did not feel comfortable reading that part of the proclamation. He would not elaborate.
When asked what had changed since he told the Times on Wednesday that he was OK with the changes, Givens said “a lot of prayer.”
The reading came after the City Council also recognized June as Pride Month and Pulse Remembrance Day with proclamations. The latter honored 49 people killed in the Pulse nightclub shooting in Orlando 10 years ago. It is the deadliest act of anti-LGBTQ+ violence in modern history.
Later in the meeting, Givens joined his colleagues in unanimously approving a resolution opposing any state legislation that discriminates against people based on sexual orientation, gender identity, or any other protected identity or characteristic.
The resolution was brought forward by vice chairperson Richie Floyd. He said he raised the issue in response to a new law going into effect next year that bans cities and counties from promoting or funding diversity, equity and inclusion programs.
Floyd also sponsored the Pulse Remembrance Day proclamation. As he was reading that recognition, he teared up as he remembered waking up to the news of the shooting. Floyd lived in Orlando as a student at the University of Central Florida.
“This tragedy shows the exact reason why it’s so important that we stand up for everyone in our community,” he said.
Welch, who was at City Hall to celebrate June as Pride Month, said the Inclusive Family and Faith proclamation is not linked to a particular organization and should have been read as written.
“We’ve always embraced the faith community, and so that is in line with our principles and the way we work,” Welch said. “But the words have a meaning, and it had to reflect who we are, and that’s what the final proclamation reflected.”