Park City will celebrate June as Pride Month in the community, continuing the efforts by leaders to prioritize the broad ideal of social equity.

The Park City Council at a recent meeting approved a resolution that proclaimed Pride Month. The two-page resolution is similar to those approved previously in Park City to mark the month. A schedule of activities is planned in June. The City Council did not spend extensive time discussing the resolution before the approval.

The resolution notes Utah Pride started in Salt Lake City in 1974 with a “small, informal gathering of Salt Lake City’s LBGTQ+ community.” It says Park City “welcomes residents and visitors from the LGBTQ+ community, their friends and family members, and straight allies who show their support.”

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“LGBTQ+ Pride month is the positive stance against discrimination and violence toward lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, plus (LGBTQ+) people; promotes their self-affirmation, dignity, and equality rights; increases their visibility as a social group; builds community; and celebrates sexual diversity and gender variance,” it says.

The resolution also says Park City “honors those in our community who have dedicated their lives to the cause of justice for all people.”

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Two other key passages from the resolution:

• “Park City is committed to learning how to advance inclusion for LGBTQ+ residents by creating and supporting policies and programs that stand against discrimination and by promoting equality and opportunity for all members of the LGBTQ+ community.”

• “Park City recognizes that policies and programs that support the needs of members of the LGBTQ+ community also meet the needs of other people throughout Park City, such that promoting equality for the LGBTQ+ community has the additional benefit of promoting equality for everyone.”

The resolution says the month “is a reminder of how much we have to celebrate, and should prompt us to never let up in our efforts to ensure full equality, inclusion, and empowerment for every member of our LGBTQ+ community.”

The elected officials in approving the resolution also authorized banners to be placed on light poles along Main Street for the month and allowed pride flags to be flown on five municipal flagpoles. Buses will be decorated with “Ride with Pride” decals. The Main Street trolley will also be decorated for the month.

The plans to mark the month include a flag-raising ceremony, which is scheduled on June 1 at Miners Hospital. The event will be organized in coordination with a LGBTQ+ Task Force.

Park City has long been considered one of the state’s friendliest places for the LGBTQ+ community, as it attracted large numbers of newcomers over the decades from left-leaning states like California and New York.

City Hall’s social equity efforts are wide ranging and designed to create a welcoming environment in Park City for a broad spectrum of people.

Even with a welcoming environment, Pride Month in Park City can draw controversy. Mayor Nann Worel and a critic of Park City’s decorations for Pride Month in 2023 engaged in a tense verbal exchange at the Marsac Building before the mayor abruptly ended the dialogue.