Horry County steps backward during Pride month. Seriously?

When Horry County passed a proclamation declaring June Pride month, we were excited to see local officials taking a step to make the Grand Strand a more welcoming place for its thousands of residents and millions of visitors.

The proclamation was surprising, though welcome. South Carolina’s legislature and Gov. Henry McMaster have spent the last two years taking steps to restrict the lives of LGBTQ+ people across the state.

Last month, McMaster signed a law banning trans girls and women from playing the sports that correspond to their gender, and the legislature still hasn’t given up on passing a law in the future that would bar doctors from providing gender-affirming health care to trans children.

This week, however, the county swiftly reversed its decision to embrace the local LGBTQ+ community, joining state leaders in yet another regressive act to take the queer community back to the dark ages.

But, we wonder. Why did the Horry County Council pass the proclamation in the first place? Was it a public stunt to feign inclusion like the corporations who throw rainbows all over their advertising during June each year while donating to politicians who regularly support actions that harm LGBTQ+ people?

Council member Johnny Vaught said the resolution in support of Pride was put on last month’s consent agenda and garnered approval because no one noticed it. The council then decided to revoke the proclamation after receiving calls from angry community members.

“We had no idea and that’s our fault,” Vaught said.

If that’s the case, what else has the county approved that no one on the 12-member council bothered to even read? Is the county really trying to blame its decision to show LGBTQ+ residents that they do not belong here on an “oops?” On carelessness?

Revoking the proclamation is definitely careless, that’s for sure.

The county could have been a role model for the region, for the state. It could have joined the city of Myrtle Beach in what is now a yearly tradition to honor Pride month, something the city does each year without question.

Research has shown repeatedly that inclusion is the best way to increase revenue, for events, for companies, for tourism. Is Horry County trying to say that it wants fewer, not more visitors to come to the Grand Strand? Visitors who provide millions of dollars in revenue for the county in the form of hospitality, sales and accommodations taxes?

Some County Council members tried to claim the reversal was not an attack on the LGBTQ+ community. “It’s not something anyone is against or for. It’s not a political statement, we’re trying to do what’s right for the community,” Council member Bill Howard said.

This looks like nothing more than a political statement.

The idiom, “When people show you who they are, believe them,” comes to mind here. Horry County’s leaders have shown their constituents that they are careless at best, dangerously reckless at worst. They have shown the Grand Strand they would rather jeopardize the region’s reputation as a place welcoming for all just because they got a few upset phone calls.

Grand Strand Pride, which put forward the resolution, said, “We’re going to start having more backlash. This is going to become more common instead of less common in my view of the future.”

Let’s hope that’s not true.

At the next council meeting, and all in the future, members should consider reading the agenda first before voting aimlessly.

Better yet, the Horry County Council should consider how it can make the Grand Strand a place where LGBTQ+ people feel safe, loved and welcome.

And no, that doesn’t start by passing empty resolutions for political gain. It starts by actively supporting LGBTQ+ people, all year, rather than shoving them back into a closet as old as humanity itself.