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Two Billerica officials criticized for opposing Pride Month resolutions
The Boston Globe
Two members of Billerica’s Select Board argued that the resolutions would mean forcing people to support the LGBTQ community.
For years, resolutions supporting Billerica’s LGBTQ community have sailed through the town’s Select Board — a routine, symbolic gesture of support by elected local leaders timed with Pride Month, complete with a rainbow flag-raising at the town’s public library.
The celebration has grown to be so popular that organizers with a local church had to reschedule last year’s flag raising to allow graduating high school seniors to attend.
But during a meeting late last month, the discussion took a divisive turn. Two board members argued that the town should not advocate for its lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer residents. They abstained from casting a vote on a resolution declaring June as Pride month because they said it pressured private businesses and schools to “recognize and celebrate” LGBTQ Pride Month.
“I’m not sure what adherence to this resolution would mean; it sounds like we’re forcing people to do stuff,” said board member Michael Rosa during the May 22 meeting. “But the town of Billerica should not be doing this, in my opinion.”
His colleague John Burrows chimed in, saying the town “overstepped its boundaries” with the measure. “I don’t think the town should be promoting it,” he said.
Rosa and Burrows, who both said they support equality and who have supported past LGBTQ proclamations, also objected to a separate declaration that denounces a growing number of anti-LGBTQ bills being considered in state legislatures across the country, complaining it was too broad.
The Billerica measures ultimately were passed with a majority of the five-member board. Still, the controversy has roiled the community of more than 40,000 northwest of Boston and serves as a reminder that LGBTQ rights can be contentious, even in liberal Massachusetts.
“The last thing we need to be worrying about is whether [people] can be authentically themselves in their own hometown,” said Yaakov “Trek” Reef, 38, who is openly gay and grew up in Billerica. He sponsored both measures.
“This resolution [and] this proclamation are a testament that we’ve got your back. I think kids need to hear that now more than ever,” Reef added in an interview.
Deputy Chief Gerald Roche, a 36-year veteran of Billerica’s police force who was also the first openly gay member of the department, said the town has long supported the rights of its LGBTQ community.
“These proclamations let people know that they’re supported and it’s okay to be you. It’s okay to be who you are,” said Roche, who was not at the contentious meeting. “It’s as if the town itself is reaching out to give that particular group a welcoming hand.”
The measures come at a time when gains for LGBTQ rights are facing increased legal pushback and violence nationwide.
In April, the Massachusetts Commission on LGBTQ Youth reported that nearly 500 anti-LGBTQ bills have been introduced in states across the country, and some have been passed in Utah, South Dakota, Mississippi, Arkansas, Tennessee, West Virginia, Iowa, Georgia, and Idaho.
In Massachusetts, neo-Nazis have targeted drag queen story hours at local libraries, including Boston, and in some cases, including Taunton and Fall River, attempted to disrupt the events. In Fitchburg, a flag representing “nuclear families” was flown in a public park in December.
Tanya Neslusan, executive director of MassEquality, said that anti-LGBTQ efforts have been growing in Massachusetts communities for several years, much like the rest of the country. While the state has a progressive reputation, activities that target the LGBTQ community need to be taken seriously, Neslusan said.
“It’s important to acknowledge that what’s happening in Billerica isn’t a one-off,” Neslusan said.
People need to pay close attention to the candidates who are running for local offices like school committees and library boards, and “lean in and press them on who they are, and what they stand for,” Neslusan said.
It is unclear how the resolutions approved by Billerica’s Select Board would affect the town. It is already illegal in Massachusetts for places of public accommodation — like stores, restaurants, and sports facilities — to discriminate based on gender identity.
In 2018, Massachusetts voters reaffirmed the rights of transgender people by upholding a state law that barred discrimination based on gender identity.
A majority of Billerica voters approved the ballot question, which supported keeping gender identity as part of the state’s nondiscrimination law, which also forbids treating people unfairly due to issues like race, color, sexual orientation, religious belief, or nationality.
In separate interviews, Rosa and Burrows each said they would have supported the Pride month proclamation if it did not call for the town to encourage support for the LGBTQ community among businesses, schools, and community organizations. They both said it also did not address how the town would fund those efforts.
When asked if an elected Billerica official should tell the town’s LGBTQ residents that they are welcomed and supported, Rosa responded:
“I am not the type of person that speaks in generalities, okay? I think there’s great LGBTQ people. I think there’s great African American people. And I also think every demographic has a certain pile of jerks, if you will,” Rosa said. “Not everybody’s perfect.”
Burrows said that he is concerned that by passing the resolutions, the town will incur financial costs in order to promote LGBTQ activities. Other groups may also seek similar proclamations, he said.
He said he supports gay people — both his brother and sister are gay, he said — but advocacy is not the town’s role.
“I don’t think it’s the town’s job to get involved,” Burrows said in the interview.
Reef blasted Rosa and Burrows for not casting votes on the two measures.
“What I heard was cowardly obfuscation” during the meeting, Reef said. “I would have preferred that they voted against it; then they would have taken the stand that I think they wanted to take.”
On June 1, a Pride flag-raising ceremony took place at Billerica’s public library, followed by a reception at the Unitarian-Universalist First Parish Church of Billerica.
Lisa O’Connor, the vice president of the church’s board, said she was deeply disappointed by the tone of the board’s discussion, which cast a pall over this year’s festivities.
“It’s just concerning to see us going backward on so many different issues. You know, from Roe v. Wade to gay marriage and gay rights,” O’Connor said. “It’s feeling a little muted this year; it feels like some of the joy was sucked out.”
