The motion before Orange City Council to cancel its involvement in this month's Rainbow Festival is not only a slap in the face for the city's LGBTQIA+ community and its allies; it also sends a negative and confusing message to our children, who are brought up to value inclusiveness and equality and to celebrate differences.
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I wonder how future generations will look back on this discussion.
My guess is it won't be with pride, but with embarrassment and shame that an insidious right-wing message of divisiveness and disinformation found a conduit to the table.
Comments such as 'council is not responsible for gender and sexuality' will be deservedly (without even the need to consult a biology textbook) seen as laughable.
![Members of the Orange community celebrating the launch of the city's first ever pride festival in February. Picture by Riley Krause Members of the Orange community celebrating the launch of the city's first ever pride festival in February. Picture by Riley Krause](/images/transform/v1/crop/frm/GHcbaSNijNeVS4SULWDX8n/8f1153d3-c51d-4787-a35b-839426be5588.jpeg/r0_133_6000_3520_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg)
At a time when a history of discriminatory behaviour towards diverse groups is being acknowledged, we should take these lessons from the past and ensure our current decisions and legacies are a source of pride, not shame.