The Transgender Advisory Board backed a proposal at their meeting today to require City Councilmembers, Commissioners and Boardmembers to display their pronouns during official meetings, either on physical nameplates during in-person meetings or digitally on Zoom.
But Boardmember Andy N. Ruiz wondered whether it needed to be a requirement.
“I would prefer it to be recommended rather than required,” Ruiz said. “And if such, it should also be accompanied with an educational component to it. I definitely think that would be more conducive forging these relationships with the trans community if it isn’t required.”
“Is it necessary?” asked Boardmember Deshon Gray. “Because if we feel like It’s necessary collectively, then let’s do it. But if you make it a recommendation, and some people do it and some people don’t, you take the risk of being in a space where a person looks away, and you may be ‘they’ and someone may call you ‘he’ and then there’s the issue. So if it’s gonna be done uniform, it has to be something across the board.”
The boardmembers largely agreed with Gray and the idea of providing education about the policy, though Ruiz re-iterated their concerns.
“I definitely always (prefer giving) the option for people to have that option to do it or not, rather than require, just because required always just sounds really harsh.”
The board’s recommendations will be presented to City Council at a future date. The Transgender Advisory Board will tentatively return to in-person meetings in July.
As for the City Attorney’s inaction over this and first amendment rights. Let’s report her to the California Bar along with all her inattention to the safety of West Hollywood and possible legal liabilities. Lawyers hate when they are reported to the bar. Espcially by aggressive litigious citizens. Where was she when Erickson advertised his one bedroom apartment (with him there) for women wanting an abortion? Or when Erickson sexually harassed the president of West Hollywood Stonewall? Put the City Attorney and the WEHO SHE on the defensive now!
The Transgender Advisory Board! Do they even live in West Hollywood? What is absolutely ridiculous about this. Are the egos of those that are proposing pronouns. Like we’re all supposed to remember their pronoun! Like we’re obsessed with everything they do. What a wast of money. As for First Ammendemtn rights, don’t expect that from the anti-semetic SHE who are supporting the jew hating girlfriend of Horvath’s former campaign manager.
Me me me = sepi
It would be nice to see the city attorney give these folks a basic lesson in the First Amendment to the Constitution of the United States. No amount of performative wokeness can override constitutional protections of free speech and expression. So much time is spent in WEHO, both in city hall and in commentary on these pages, in debate that is mired in idiocy that lacks basic reasoning and understanding of core issues. Deflect, deny, and divert often rule the day. Few people involved have any sense or understanding of the greater good or ability to see beyond narrow parochial… Read more »
You said it! A public display of narrow minded folks that are unable to see beyond their conflicted self interests. Try to align yourselves with the world rather than attempting to have the world revolve around your idiocy. Very sad🙄
👏 👏 👏
The City Attorney is incompetent.
Not incompetent, just cowardly, and afraid to lose a very lucrative contract by giving the City straight forward legal advise. Time to take our business elsewhere.
You are correct about that. The City Attorney is perceived to give very fuzzy guidance and believe her orders appear to be “avoid having the city sued.” Clearly that gives the developers an upper hand foisting unrealistic projects on to the public as the likelihood of a public based suit is slim. Sloppy all the way around and possibly unethical.
Example: The AKA West Hollywood development agreement where we got shorted out of actual housing.
Exactly. That was a glaring error from the beginning which was a defenseless point of view on behalf of the city. The Planning Director had little awareness in the “definition of housing” supposedly one of the city’s main objectives, coupled with City Attorney Jenkins whose Motto was “we’ll just make it up as we go along until the courts tell us no”. Significant monetary and housing losses plus a very bad public impression. Few folks notice and even less now with uninformed PC commissioners after the loss of Lynn Hoopengarner. Last evening no one actually scrutinized the Staff Report on… Read more »
good grief.
This is just more Woke junk. From the anti-semitic city council members. Like Erickson, Horvath, and Shyne …how could anyone be expected to remember their pronouns, when they barely want to recognize their faces. Of course, if they were a hot guy every gay guy in West Hollywood remember their pronouns. But these three, forget it.
The staff at City Hall should be required to wear badges saying they are lazy, incompetent, and severely overpaid. I would support that 100%.
Lol.
lol. me too.
Oh yeah and yes. How do they get away with this?
Imbeciles!! This board should be disbanded. They don’t live in West Hollywood and do not speak for the vast majority of residents.
In May, the City Council put an item up mandating Council members, Board and Commission members display their pronouns, but then the withdrew the clause making it mandatory, saying it was a “mistake”. So it seems a bit odd that we are again putting this issue up for discussion. I believe that the people of West Hollywood are respectful of this issue in dealing with their interactions with others but I don’t quite see the benefit of a mandate other than fueling the flames of the culture wars.
This is definitely not improving their chances of acceptability. How about the old fashioned concept of fitting in and acting respectably. No?
This is not legal, not comfortable for people who do not want their pronouns on display, and not a smart way to build allies or supporters. For those folks that want to display their pronouns, you absolutely should! It is your absolute right. For those of us choosing not to, it is our right. I’ve not told anyone my pronouns, so I sincerely hope that when I show up for a meeting, mine are not displayed, as I don’t know what my reaction would be. Other than to call the city attorney.
You’re absolutely right, Jimmy. These are matters of personal choice and how ironic is it that a city bureaucracy committed to personal choice and bodily autonomy would even entertain any discussion about forced identity. If you are ever forced to display pronouns, I would recommend that you skip the city attorney and engage someone who actually understands and is committed to the Constitution. Sometimes lawyers need to give advice that their clients might not like; it seems (at least on the surface) that Ms. Langer is incapable of that basic function of legal representation. She appears to be bending over… Read more »
Steve, you do know that the video from that meeting is online and everyone can see that you had no back bone when this item was discussed. You’re one person on WeHoville and another in person, which one are we getting when you announce you’re running for city council again?
So f’ing ridiculous. How dare this group even consider forcing someone to “identify.” Government over reach at its best. I’d file a law suit in a hot second.
I’m sure it’s the anti-semites, Erickson, Horvath and Shyne pushing that.
None of the council members are anti-semites.
You’re a troll.
Knock it off! Not everything is anti-semitic.