For many special interest groups in America, it has now become a rite of passage for local and national governments to issue proclamations declaring their week or month. In Nueces County, Texas, Republican County Commissioner Carolyn Vaughn is standing up and saying she won’t rubber stamp a local proclamation in recognition of PRIDE Week 2019 from June 3 through June 9, 2019.
“I expect the LGBTQ community to respect my right to say and express my view by not supporting their platform just as I supported their right to express their view but for some reason when a Christian speaks up they are criticized, attacked, and called names when they don’t agree with their stance or their beliefs. People have got to start speaking up and not be silenced for fear of being attacked,” Vaughn said after we reached out for comment.
Attacks like these in the horrendous Tweet below are an example of what she is having to deal with.
SEE TWEET BELOW:
In a direct quote received by Politics Elections regarding Canale’s decision to make the proclamation, Vaughn told us: “I respect her right to do the proclamation but don’t believe the Commissioners Court should be involved in a proclamation for this issue, we have more important things to do in the county!”
Yesterday was the first time that the proclamation had came before the local commissioners and Vaughn didn’t agree. She made it clear, “I want it in the record that I do not support this proclamation or agree with the statements in it.”
“God is great, God is good, and I’m proud to share with everyone my beliefs while respecting your free will and your free speech,” Vaughn said. “So today the judge has a right to present a proclamation to your organization, so appreciate my right that in my belief system, I will not support this proclamation. Although the commissioners’ signatures are not required on this proclamation, it states ‘Commissioners Court,’ of which I am a part of this court.”
After the meeting, Vaughn spoke with local reporters: “They have a right to (their) beliefs and they have to respect mine and my beliefs. I can’t support the proclamation of what the judge did. It has nothing to do with them. It’s just my beliefs and I wasn’t going to support them.”
Vaughn was appointed last year to the position by Republican judge Loyd Neal after being elected to the Corpus Christi City Council in 2014 and won reelection in November. Neal, meanwhile retired last year and Democrat Barbara Canales won a closely contested race to replace him. Canales was chosen to be the Grand Marshall of this year’s PRIDE parade, a move that sparked outrage from a local Catholic priest and she was behind the proclamation being brought in front of the Commissioners Court.
