Rainbow lights will remain on Texas city’s water tower despite Pride Month backlash

When the mayor of Rowlett, Texas ordered a city water tower to be lit up with rainbow lights in Celebration of Pride Month, the backlash came quickly.

Several city council members, community leaders and residents of the Dallas suburb spoke out, saying the Pride display doesn’t represent them, doesn’t represent Rowlett, and they want it gone, WFAA reported.

“It was just another way we could highlight our diverse population and make them feel included in our community,” Mayor Tammy Dana-Bashian said of the decision, which sparked a clash between opponents of the Pride display, and members and supporters of the LGBTQ community.

The council agreed Wednesday to let the rainbow lights stay on the Rowlett landmark for the rest of June, but the past few weeks have made it clear the decor, and the cause behind it, is far from universally loved.

One councilwoman, Martha Brown, called Mayor Tammy Dana-Bashian’s June proclamation an “embarrassment to everyone,” in an email to the city manager, according to KDFW.

During a Tuesday meeting on the issue at city hall, a resident said the display is an affront to his religious sensibilities, WFAA reported.

“These are very sincerely held, deeply religious beliefs,” he said. “That kind of lifestyle is immoral.”

Another resident suggested the rainbow imagery has been in some ways hijacked, the TV station reported.

“As a conservative, I believe the rainbow was a promise from God that never (flood) the earth again. It does not represent gay equality,” they said.

Opponents also argued that Dana-Bashian’s proclamation should be rescinded because it was not approved by the full city council, KXAS reported.

The proclamation was presented to the Rowlett Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Commission at the council’s June 1 meeting.

“(The proclamation) does not speak for me and many, many others. We’re not wanting to hate anyone. We’re just wanting to strongly disagree with that lifestyle choice,” Brian Hiatt, lead pastor of the Cornerstone Church, said. “We’re here just to stand up and say, we’re better than this as a community and that we want our voice heard as well.”

But Dana-Bashian had supporters in her corner as well, and she wasn’t backing down.

“This is a marginalized group that is in our community that has the right to be recognized and the right to be included and there is nothing to stand down about,” she told WFAA.

While the city council has to let the proclamation stand, they are also looking into limiting the mayor’s ability to issue proclamations in the future, KDFW reported.

Rowlett is a city of about 66,000 on Lake Ray Hubbard at Interstate 30.

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