Source: Ventura County Star
Ventura, Cal. -- Three teens proudly shouted in chorus at at downtown Ventura park, "We're here because we're gay."
The teens were among the large crowds that filled downtown Ventura's Mission Park Saturday for the 10th annual Ventura County Lesbian Gay Bisexual Transgender Diversity and Pride Festival, Ventura County Star reports.
The festival, which got underway after a parade down Main St., was dedicated to another teen, Larry King, who was killed in a classroom at nearby E.O. Green School in Oxnard.
Oxnard Mayor Tom Holden, praised the festival as an event that encourages awareness and understanding about the different lifestyles within the county.
"On one end of the spectrum you have tolerance and embracing and on the other end of the spectrum you have something tragic, which is what occurred in Oxnard not too long ago with Lawrence King," Holden said as he addressed the crowd.
King, 15, who dressed in a feminine manner and told friends he was gay, was shot and killed at E.O. Green School in February. A 14-year-old classmate, Brandon McInerney, has been charged with first-degree murder and a hate crime.
The November ballot issue Proposition 8, which seeks to overturn California's same sex marriage law, was a hot topic of conversation at the festival.
photo: NowPublic blog"This is the biggest festival we've ever had," said Michael Quick, 48, the special events planner with the Ventura County Rainbow Alliance. "We have 72 vendors here, and it's not just the gay and lesbian community who are out here today; it's everybody."
Proposition 8, the November ballot measure that seeks to remove marriage rights for lesbian and gay couples, was a hot topic of conversation on the speaker's platform and among the festival tents.
"This is very important and it's not a marriage thing, it's an equality thing, and this festival is a way to show how proud we are," said Quick, who married his partner on July 12.
Support groups, political groups, and health providers from throughout Ventura County set up tents on the park to explain their services to the crowds.
John Pierce invited people to take a rest on a couple of soft sofas he'd set up and learn about COLOR, or Community Organized for Liberty, Opportunity and Respect.
"We're a gay/straight alliance that wants to end homophobia through serving the community and through community education," he said.
But it was, in the end, a summer social event for many of those who crowded into the park.
"I'm straight, but I have a lot of gay and transgendered friends," said Nikolette Bates, 20, who's a student at Ventura College.
"This is just fun and accepting, and it's good to have a community."
Source: Gay pride festival honors slain teen | Ventura County Star