{"id":2949,"date":"2019-06-27T22:08:23","date_gmt":"2019-06-28T02:08:23","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/cafe.nfshost.com\/?p=2949"},"modified":"2019-06-27T22:08:23","modified_gmt":"2019-06-28T02:08:23","slug":"richmond-parents-protest-taxpayer-funded-promotion-of-lgbtq-agenda","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cafe.nfshost.com\/?p=2949","title":{"rendered":"Richmond Parents Protest Taxpayer Funded Promotion of LGBTQ Agenda"},"content":{"rendered":"<section class=\"story-carousel container-fluid px-0 single \">\n<header class=\"\">\n<h1 style=\"text-align: center;\"><span style=\"color: #ff0000;\"><strong>Richmond Parents Protest Taxpayer Funded Promotion of LGBTQ Agenda<\/strong><\/span><\/h1>\n<h1><\/h1>\n<h1 class=\"headline pt-0 pb-2 my-0 font-weight-bold\">Former &#8216;Parents slate&#8217; members demand more consultation for Richmond&#8217;s rainbow crosswalk<\/h1>\n<div class=\"fb-quote fb_iframe_widget\" data-href=\"\"><\/div>\n<h4 id=\"pressboard-ad-sponsorship-tag\" class=\"no-vert-padding\"><\/h4>\n<\/header>\n<div class=\" author-date-social container-fluid pl-0\">\n<div class=\"row no-gutters\">\n<div class=\"ancillary col-md-12 col-lg-6\">Nono Shen\u00a0\/\u00a0Richmond News<\/p>\n<p class=\"p-published-time text-uppercase mt-1\">JUNE 21, 2019 02:35 PM<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"social-toolbar no-list col-12 col-lg-6 text-left text-lg-right my-3 my-lg-0\">\n<div class=\"d-flex flex-row justify-content-lg-end\">\n<div class=\"pr-1 fb-like-container\">\n<div class=\"fb-like fb_iframe_widget\" data-href=\"https:\/\/www.richmond-news.com\/news\/former-parents-slate-members-demand-more-consultation-for-richmond-s-rainbow-crosswalk-1.23863863\" data-layout=\"button\" data-action=\"like\" data-size=\"small\" data-show-faces=\"false\" data-share=\"false\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" class=\"\" title=\"fb:like Facebook Social Plugin\" src=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/v2.12\/plugins\/like.php?action=like&amp;app_id=584124811629651&amp;channel=https%3A%2F%2Fstaticxx.facebook.com%2Fconnect%2Fxd_arbiter.php%3Fversion%3D44%23cb%3Df122da339b4f7c8%26domain%3Dwww.richmond-news.com%26origin%3Dhttps%253A%252F%252Fwww.richmond-news.com%252Ff1d0282fb86588%26relation%3Dparent.parent&amp;container_width=0&amp;href=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.richmond-news.com%2Fnews%2Fformer-parents-slate-members-demand-more-consultation-for-richmond-s-rainbow-crosswalk-1.23863863&amp;layout=button&amp;locale=en_US&amp;sdk=joey&amp;share=false&amp;show_faces=false&amp;size=small\" name=\"f29b906c0332bbc\" width=\"1000px\" height=\"1000px\" frameborder=\"0\" scrolling=\"no\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\" data-mce-fragment=\"1\"><\/iframe><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"pl-2\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"pl-2\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"pl-2\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"pl-2\"><span class=\"email_custom social-art\" title=\"Email Article\"><a id=\"#emailArticleLink23863863\" name=\"modal\" data-toggle=\"modal\" data-target=\"#emailArticle23863863\"><\/a>\uf199<\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"pl-2\"><span class=\"print_custom social-art\" title=\"Print Article\"><a>\uf02f<\/a><\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"rotator-images-wrapper\">\n<div id=\"standardArticleCarousel\" class=\"carousel slide\">\n<div class=\"carousel-inner\" role=\"listbox\">\n<div class=\"carousel-item active\">\n<div class=\"image-container text-center\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"d-inline-block img-fluid\" title=\"Photo cutline: (from lef) Ivan Pak, James Li and Andrea Gong said it took them a lot of courage to speak up, and they wish the city could spend taxpayers\u2019 money wisely. \" src=\"https:\/\/images.glaciermedia.ca\/polopoly_fs\/1.23863884.1561181635!\/fileImage\/httpImage\/image.JPG_gen\/derivatives\/landscape_804\/rainbow-crosswalk.JPG\" alt=\"Rainbow crosswalk\" width=\"auto\" height=\"auto\" \/><\/p>\n<div class=\"carousel-caption mb-2 pr-3\">\n<div>Photo cutline: (from lef) Ivan Pak, James Li and Andrea Gong said it took them a lot of courage to speak up, and they wish the city could spend taxpayers\u2019 money wisely.<\/div>\n<div>Photograph By\u00a0<span class=\"text-uppercase\">NONO SHEN<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/section>\n<div class=\"story-content\">\n<div class=\"top-video-inline\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"parsedBody\">\n<p>Coun. Chak Au may be alone on council in refusing to endorse a rainbow crosswalk, however he\u2019s not alone among some Richmond residents.<\/p>\n<p>At a city council meeting on Monday, Au voted against the city spending $15,000 to paint a rainbow crosswalk on Minoru Boulevard in front of the Brighouse Library, citing the speed the item was brought up with and a lack of public consultation.<\/p>\n<div class=\"article-continues text-center hidden-sm-up my-3 font-weight-bold\"><i class=\"fa fa-angle-double-down mr-1\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/i><\/div>\n<div id=\"adBoxWithLinksContainer\" class=\"container-fluid my-4\">\n<div class=\"row\">\n<div class=\"col-md-12 col-lg-5 linksColumn\">\n<div id=\"articleAdLinksContainer\">\n<ul class=\"article-adlinks-items no-list\">\n<li class=\"article-adlinks-item\"><\/li>\n<li class=\"article-adlinks-item\"><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div id=\"relatedElementsMarker\"><\/div>\n<p>After the vote, Au said he was not against supporting the LGBTQ2S community, with city staff explaining that the agenda item was pushed forward to coincide with Pride Week, which kicks off July 29.<\/p>\n<p>However, three members of the so-called Parents Slate, which ran five candidates in last fall&#8217;s school board elections, have come out in opposition of the rainbow crosswalk, echoing Au&#8217;s concerns.<\/p>\n<div id=\"fsk_splitbox_3372_onscreen\" class=\"fsk_splitbox_3372_onscreen\">\n<div id=\"fsk_splitbox_3372\" class=\"  fsk_splitbox_3372\"><iframe id=\"fsk_frame_splitbox\" name=\"fsk_frame_splitbox\" width=\"300\" height=\"150\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\" data-mce-fragment=\"1\"><\/iframe><\/div>\n<div id=\"fsk_splitbox_3372_passback\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" id=\"fsk_splitbox_3372_passback_iframe\" src=\"about:blank\" width=\"300\" height=\"150\" scrolling=\"no\" data-mce-fragment=\"1\"><\/iframe><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"pro-player-ipm pro-player-ipm-hidden force-hide-player\" data-hidden=\"false\"><\/div>\n<p>One of them, Andrea Gong, a Richmond resident, said she supports Au\u2019s position and told the Richmond News that &#8220;identity politics could harm social relations &#8211; it emphasizes differences rather than commonalities, which could pull the community apart.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;(Painting the crosswalk) might separate one group of people from the rest of us. If we make the rainbow crosswalk permanent, should we paint signs for other groups of people to celebrate equality, such as painting signs for Christian or Muslim groups,&#8221; said Gong, who didn&#8217;t get elected last fall.<\/p>\n<p>According to Gong, if the city plans to set up a permanent symbol of &#8220;inclusiveness and love,&#8221; it shouldn&#8217;t be a symbol attached to one single \u201cideology.\u201d Instead, the Canadian flag could be a better option.<\/p>\n<p>Only Richard Lee from the Parents Slate got elected last fall.<\/p>\n<p>Another member of the same slate, Ivan Pak, said the city should spend taxpayers&#8217; money more wisely, particularly when lots of local community associations are struggling financially and some people are not getting the support they need.<\/p>\n<p>Pak added that there already is a crosswalk in front of the library, and the new painting won&#8217;t increase the safety level.<\/p>\n<p>James Li -a third member of the same slate,\u00a0 which was opposed to the Richmond School District&#8217;s SOGI policy -said he believes everyone is equal, but &#8220;political correctness pressures people to adopt the same values and support the Pride movement, for fear of facing criticism and isolation if they don\u2019t.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;In our community, if anyone has a different opinion of the LGBTQ sign and movement, he or she might face being labelled as \u2018haters\u2019 or a \u2018bully.\u2019 Lots of people are afraid to speak up, which is another way of bullying,&#8221; said Li.<\/p>\n<p>The final vote on the proposal will be held at Monday\u2019s council meeting. Pak and Gong say they plan to be there to show their opposition.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Richmond Parents Protest Taxpayer Funded Promotion of LGBTQ Agenda Former &#8216;Parents slate&#8217; members demand more consultation for Richmond&#8217;s rainbow crosswalk Nono Shen\u00a0\/\u00a0Richmond News JUNE 21, 2019 02:35 PM \uf199 \uf02f Photo cutline: (from lef) Ivan Pak, James Li and Andrea &hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/cafe.nfshost.com\/?p=2949\">Continue reading <span class=\"meta-nav\">&rarr;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[1733,1731,1732],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cafe.nfshost.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2949"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/cafe.nfshost.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/cafe.nfshost.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cafe.nfshost.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cafe.nfshost.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2949"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/cafe.nfshost.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2949\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2950,"href":"https:\/\/cafe.nfshost.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2949\/revisions\/2950"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cafe.nfshost.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2949"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cafe.nfshost.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2949"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cafe.nfshost.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2949"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}