Last week, the City of Westfield removed social media posts honoring Pride Month from its Twitter account and Facebook page at the direction of Mayor Andy Cook.
Cook said the city “should not be involved in supporting social issues.”
On Thursday, the start of Pride Month, Westfield posted on the city’s social media accounts: “We’re talking about the Westfield Way and how it sets us apart. We’re talking about the Westfield Way and how it sets us apart. We are committed to being a welcoming and safe community. Happy Pride Month, Westfield.”
By Friday, the post had been removed from Twitter and Facebook. After the post was deleted, there was an immediate backlash from users on social media platforms.
Brian Ayers, a Westfield resident and co-founder of the Gay, Lesbian, and Straight Education Network of Central Indiana (GLSEN), said the post was a “nice surprise” but was disappointed it was removed. he said.
“It made me sad,” Ayers said. “It was disappointing to see a blanket message and then see it removed so quickly.”
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In a statement to IndyStar, Cook said Westfield “always recognizes the diverse population of our country” but “feels strongly that the government should remain neutral on these social issues.” .
“The City of Westfield’s public relations department created a social media post on Thursday to commemorate Pride Month,” Cook said. “After further consideration, we felt that the city should not be involved in supporting social issues, so we directed that the post be removed.”
In 2022, Ms. Westfield did not post on the city’s social media accounts about Pride Month, which celebrates the 1969 Stonewall Uprising and recognizes lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer individuals.
However, a review of Westfield’s Facebook page shows that the city posts about Black History Month, which takes place in February and Juneteenth, a federal holiday commemorating the emancipation of black slaves in the United States on June 19, 1865. It is said that he did.
The cities of Fishers and Carmel both posted on Facebook to honor Pride Month. As of Monday, the city of Noblesville had not posted about Pride on its Facebook account.
Contact the reporter at 317-779-4468.