Residents of LA suburb successfully stop yet another LGBT effort by their local government.

MassResistance helps conservative, minority residents fight back against left-wing politicians.

This is how pro-family victories need to happen!

April 1, 2021

The Downey, CA, City Council listens as the clerk reads the angry emails they received from residents against a proposed city-sponsored "LGBT youth picnic."

The pro-family movement far too often fails to realize that when it comes to the Left’s attempt to push their agenda onto society, every battle is important. And seemingly “little” victories are often particularly critical in the larger picture.

Downey, California is a largely minority, working-class suburb of Los Angeles. The residents are also very conservative. Until just six years ago the Downey City Council was entirely Republican.

Downey, CA – a conservative, working-class suburb southeast of Los Angeles.

Then the California Legislature changed the election laws to allow ballot harvesting, mail-in voting, extended voting, etc. The Los Angeles County Democrat machine targeted Downey. They ran progressives and left-wing activists for the various local offices, and aggressively used ballot harvesting and the other fraudulent techniques to make sure their candidates won. Before people realized what was happening, their government had changed radically. Downey’s minority residents, in particular, felt helpless.

The Left appeared to have free reign to change Downey. But it hasn’t been so easy, thanks to MassResistance!

The battle started in 2019

Part of the leftist agenda is to bring extremely graphic and explicit sex-ed programs into the schools. In 2019, the Downey School Board overwhelmingly passed a “comprehensive sex-ed” curriculum for the middle school and high school grades. Right away, parents were upset with the phony “public vetting” process that had revealed little about it. And the school refused to make the details of the curriculum public. So parents asked MassResistance for help.

Our California MassResistance group forced the school officials to reveal what was really in that curriculum – and we exposed it to the public. But we didn’t stop there. We organized parents from across town to storm the School Board and demand that the curriculum be thrown out.

During a School Board meeting. The parents refused to give up!

MassResistance parents pose for a photo in the hallway just after a School Board meeting.

The fight lasted for six months. The School Board did not want to upset their left-wing allies. But finally, in May 2020, the Downey School Board surrendered and agreed to abandon the curriculum. So far, it hasn’t been replaced with anything.

It was a great victory. As a result, the Downey parents formed one of the most robust MassResistance groups in California!

A pastor talks to a MassResistance gathering at a local church.

Last month: Another fight, another win!

Last month, the Left tried another tactic. They felt it was time for the City of Downey to begin sponsoring a public LGBT event. The city would organize an “LGBT youth picnic” in a local park. That may seem relatively inconsequential. But it would be made into a very powerful statement – and leveraged into more official events in the future.

As the local media reported on March 20, the LGBT picnic proposal was to be brought up three days later at the March 23 Downey City Council meeting by Council Member Catherine Alvarez, an “openly bisexual woman,” along with Council Member Mario Trujillo, who is “married” to another man.

Council members Catherine Alvarez (left) and Mario Trujillo made it their goal to push the LGBT agenda.

It looked like this proposal would sail through the City Council. The article observed, this move is part of Downey’s “transformation away from political conservatism.” (Well – maybe not!)

The people overwhelm the left-wing politicians

Word quickly got out, people across town became very upset, and the Downey MassResistance chapter helped residents get involved. As a result, in the three days leading up to the March 23 meeting, the Mayor and City Council got a flood of calls and emails. Not surprisingly, Trujillo reacted by carrying on about “bigotry” and “homophobia.” But people weren’t intimidated.

At the March 23 meeting when the City Council meeting took up that item, Alvarez began by encouraging the Council to pass it. She didn’t make a very compelling argument:

It’s more likely as a celebration for a Pride Month. I know that last year, the Downey youth organized a Pride march outside of city hall. I think everyone remembers that. They did this because the youth wanted the LGBT people to feel welcome to our community. They wanted to express themselves, that there are LGBT people in this city.

Mayor Claudia Frometa was clearly a bit skittish due to the constituent pressure opposing this, and he countered that argument:

If we approve an event like this, we are setting a precedent, we are opening our city for every group that wants to host something, is going to come knocking on our door, so that we pay for it, Any group is welcome to host whatever event they want, our city’s parks are available. They have to set up their own sponsorship. They do it. It shouldn’t be a city-sponsored anything.

(Of course, setting a precedent is exactly what the Left wants to do!)

Next, Council Member Trujillo spoke at length about the need to publicly fight homophobia and bigotry, not only in Downey but across the country. He listed cities across the country that sponsor “Gay Pride Month” events.

But that didn’t seem to be enough to save it. The other two members of the City Council were not in a mood to go against the flood of opposition to this:

Mayor Pro-tem Blanca Pacheco said she objected to holding an LGBT youth picnic because of the COVID-19 restrictions and also because of the “optics”, given that the city was low on funds, and it would look bad for the city to spend money on something like a Pride event.

Sean Ashton, another liberal on the City Council, said that he supported the idea of an LGBT youth picnic, but did not think that the city should go forward with it because the city needed to address infrastructure issues.

After the Council Members made their remarks, the City Clerk read out comments that were submitted via email. Every single emailed response opposed the LGBT youth picnic! Here are just a few samples that we got via a FOIA request:

Homosexuality and transgenderism are not inherent, genetic traits. These are behaviors that cut the lifespan sort of individuals who engage in them. There are not behaviors to promote to the public, and should not be permitted around children.

Today you have decided to vote whether or not the City should fund an LGBTQ picnic. Did you consider the majority of residents in Downey who would not want this picnic to be funded by the city? Unbelievable that you would even consider it. That’s not why you were voted into office.

Do not bring divisiveness camouflaged as inclusion. Let’s use city funds to promote COMMUNITY, not specific groups. Remember, you are public servants working for the whole community, not just a small minority of the public sector.

If people who identify as LGBTQ want to have a picnic, then they can have a picnic. No one is stopping from gathering at a park and having a picnic. But there is no reason that the city needs to “officially” sanction this activity.

I have lived in this community for almost 20 years now. I like to live in Downey, but I recently informed that Downey is moving forward to have LGBTQ Picnic. I am furious at the members of Downey Council who consider this. We are not paying taxes to promote personal benefits, but for community.

Next, several people testified via Zoom. A few of them spoke out about so-called “homophobia,” but the majority of the Zoom participants were also strongly against it.

Thus, three of the Council Members would not commit to supporting the picnic, and the vast majority of comments from the public opposed the picnic. Relenting to the clear opposition to the idea, Councilmember Alvarez agreed to abandon the picnic proposal, and instead allow for a proclamation in June 2021 to “celebrate Pride Month,” The Council informally agreed to that, and the matter was done. (However, the Downey MassResistance group is planning to demand a resolution also be passed to celebrate natural marriage, life, and family.)

The people won again! The left-wing politicians were again forced to back down.

Final thoughts

We can’t stress how incredibly important it is to give relatively powerless parents and citizens – especially minorities whom the Left often targets – a strong way to successfully fight back in today’s world. The Left is out to subjugate everyone. But they can be stopped. We must remember that every battle is important!