LGBTQ+ community members and allies want more queer folks to be visible in the San Gabriel Valley.
Around 35 people, including community leaders and residents, gathered at the region’s 2nd annual State of Queer and Transgender Pride event, held Thursday, Nov. 16, at City of Hope’s Cooper Auditorium in Duarte. The event — hosted by the El-Monte-based San Gabriel Valley LGBTQ Center — included a dinner, panel discussions about youth and the community’s future, vendors and resources.
In their remarks, San Gabriel Valley LGBTQ Center board president Camila Camaléon and vice president Christian Port highlighted the center’s achievements, programs, and future inclusive efforts to support the region’s LGBTQ+ community.
Officials celebrated hosting the first-ever SGV Pride Tour in June during Pride Month, which included eight different cities hosting events that brought in thousands of residents, celebrating and standing together for Pride. They also recognized the nonprofit’s ongoing Building Pride Campaign to help increase LGBTQ+ visibility and support local cities, schools and organizations taking a stand.
“We heard loud and clear that LGBT residents of the San Gabriel Valley want more safe spaces to be their true, authentic selves,” said Port.
Though highlighting wins in LGBTQ+ representation, Port and Camaléon also acknowledged growing hate and rhetoric over the last year.
The California Department of Justice reported a rise in anti-trans, gay and lesbian hate crimes in 2022 in its inaugural State of Pride Report. Between 2021 and 2022, the report states, there were over 391 reported hate crime events motivated by sexual orientation bias — an increase of 29% from 2021.
Camaléon — the San Gabriel Valley LGBT Center’s first trans woman of color board president — said that being transgender “can still be met with hostility and prejudice… across the United States, we’ve witnessed an unprecedented wave of legislation and…
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