.png)
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE May 27th, 2021
LEESBURG, VA - The Equality Loudoun (EQLOCO) Board of Directors applauds the Loudoun County School Board (LCSB) members that voted to pass a proclamation celebrating June as LGBTQ+ Pride Month. For decades, the LGBTQ+ community has been an integral part of the Loudoun community and we are heartened to see this proclamation once again introduced and passed by LGBTQ+ allies. The proclamation passed 5:1:3, with members Barts, King, Reaser, Serotkin, and Sheridan voting for the measure, Beatty voting against, and members Corbo, Mahedavi, abstaining. Jeff Morse was absent for the vote. We condemn in the strongest possible terms that any Loudoun County School Board members that stood would show cowardice, stand silent on, or oppose this issue. Pride Month is one of the most visible and important recognitions of the LGBTQ+ community across the nation and has been previously recognized by Loudoun County’s School Board and the Board of Supervisors. It is unacceptable that Denise Corbo, Harris Mahedavi, and Jeff Morse abstained from celebrating a community that is routinely the target of hate and bigotry in Loudoun. Further, it is unacceptable that John Beatty would vote against this proclamation. Recognition of Pride Month is not just a celebration but a continuing declaration from our allies that they support and affirm the LGBTQ+ community, which can save the lives of the students these Board Members have been appointed to protect. Equality Loudoun implores these School Board Members who abstained or voted against the proclamation to provide an explanation that the residents and students of Loudoun County deserve.
---- Equality Loudoun (EQLOCO) is a grassroots organization fighting to promote, protect and defend LGBTQ+ equality in Loudoun County. Founded in 2003 and re-launched in 2017, EQLOCO is a nonpartisan, 100% volunteer, and grassroots-driven organization currently in the process of achieving nonprofit status.