Drag show protests - form letter

WE NEED YOUR HELP!

Please send this letter, with your own reflections, to the Mayor and City Council! We need to show that the hostile treatment of the 2SLGBTQ+ Community in Calgary must stop! Please share with anyone who is willing to help send emails!

To: NAME OF CONTACT,

The City of Calgary

P.O. Box 2100, Station M

Calgary, AB T2P 2M5

Re: Drag show protests

I am writing to you today to express my deep concern over the recent protests at drag shows, trans-affirming spaces, and queer events in Calgary. The number of protests targeting the 2SLGBTQ+ community has risen since summer 2022, reaching increasingly violent levels, as made evident by the incident at Reading with Royalty at the Calgary Public Library’s Seton branch on February 25, 2023. These demonstrations are a clear and direct threat to the safety of queer and transgender communities, specifically children, as all-ages events are most frequently targeted. I am asking you to stand up with 2SLGBTQ+ people in Calgary and take immediate and tangible action to end the cycle of hatred and harassment.

Organizers and attendees at one of Calgary's first Pride rallies in 1991 covered their faces with paper bags and Lone Ranger masks to avoid being identified by unsupportive employers and landlords. Their lives and livelihoods were at risk. In 1991, then-Mayor Al Duerr took a political risk by proclaiming Calgary’s first Gay Rights Week. Duerr ultimately buckled under conservative backlash, calling his support a mistake. The community declared their own Gay and Lesbian Rights Week the next year, and pressed on without the support of the Mayor’s office.

This hostility is not new. The current violence towards the 2SLGBTQ+ community mirrors the treatment our community elders faced years ago. This ongoing, targeted harassment is taking work away from queer people, striking fear in the hearts of our allies, supporters, and chosen families, and forcing the cancellation of several highly anticipated community events.

I hope this letter reaches you with its intent to spark more and effective measures to protect 2SLGBTQ+ youth, community members, and allies from hate. I hope that you and your colleagues will work diligently to end the dangerous weekly demonstrations that target marginalized Calgarians.

Over 30 years later, our lives and livelihoods are still at risk. Our youth are being exposed to homophobia, transphobia, and hateful rhetoric at family events. I urge you and your fellow Councillors to take a bold stance and act in allyship with 2SLGBTQ+ Calgarians, not just at the Calgary Pride Parade, but on the other 364 days of the year as well.

Sincerely,

Your Name

FOR WEB FORM SUBMISSIONS:

Character limit: 5,000 (including spaces)

First and last name, email address, and Ward number or community name are mandatory fields. Please use a real name and email address. You can indicate whether you wish to be contacted about your submission.

FOR EMAILED SUBMISSIONS:

Please include a clear subject line and use a real email address.

PROTOCOL:

The Mayor has asked Council and members of the public NOT to call her “Your Worship” or “Her Worship.” Instead, please use “The Mayor” or “Mayor Gondek” when referring to or addressing The Mayor.

Address: Mayor Jyoti Gondek

Salutation: Dear/To Mayor Gondek

Councillors:

Address: Councillor Firstname Lastname

Salutation: Dear/To Councillor Lastname

CITY COUNCIL CONTACTS

Mayor Jyoti Gondek

themayor@calgary.ca

Amie Blanchette - Chief of Staff (Office of the Mayor)

amie.blanchette@calgary.ca

https://www.calgary.ca/council/mayor/dyncrm-mayor-contact.html

Sonya Sharp - Ward 1

sonya.sharp@calgary.ca