HOLLY SPRINGS, N.C. — Some in Holly Springs believe their views and lives are not valued as much as others in the town.
What You Need To Know
Protesters gathered outside Holly Springs Law Enforcement Center as town council met on Tuesday night
Mayor Sean Mayefskie did not acknowledge he would sign Wake County non-discrimination ordinance at a council meeting last week
Advocates fear members of the LGBTQ+ community are not safe in town
Tuesday LGBTQ+ advocates gathered at the town law enforcement center to rally for a Pride Month Proclamation amid a massive request for the mayor to sign onto the Wake County non-discrimination ordinance on the night of another town council meeting.
Allies and LGBTQ+ community members said they are angry, hurt and upset that Mayor Sean Mayefskie has still not taken action on the NDO.
“I think it is important because it sends a message to the community that their experiences and who they are is validated and respected,” Chuck Tryon said.
Tryon has lived in the town for several years. As a straight man with children and grandchildren, the 51-year-old said the NDO is a good thing.
”I think it’s important to have inclusivity as part of our culture,” he said.
The protest comes a week after the mayor refused to comment on the NDO and whether to make a proclamation at a town council meeting.
“I wish there was all that many hours in the day to spend. We do have business to get to,” the mayor said during the meeting.
At least seven people from the town spoke in favor of added protections for the LGBTQ+ community. Jackie Turnwald noticed the mayor’s choice.
“When the mayor chooses not to sign a proclamation such as this, it sends a message to our community both to people in and outside of it,” Turnwald said.
Turnwald said they identified as non-binary transgender.
”Y’all means all. Every last one of us,” they said while designing a sign for the protest.
Turnwald and their partner live in the town too. They said they don’t feel as safe as they would like.
“I seek community where I am going to be safe. My partner is going to be safe. But I also have always been committed to doing the work of making sure we are all safe and unfortunately that’s still not true in every community,” Turnwald said.
Even as residents, allies and some outsiders have pressured the mayor to make a move, Mayefskie hasn’t changed. Spectrum News 1 contacted him for this story and was unable to connect.
Tryon worried not all of his LGBTQ+ neighbors in Holly Springs feel at home.
“How do you say that you’re going to discriminate against someone, but you are going to do it nicely, or politely or respectfully? I mean that is not how discrimination works. It’s discrimination. To endorse that is just simply wrong,” he said.
Tryon invited Turnwald and one other woman, Mindy Nelson, to create posters for the protest.
“As Jackie said, we have a lot of work to do,” Nelson said.
Nelson is a mother and grandmother living in Fuquay-Varina. Although she is technically outside of town limits, Nelson said using art to take a stance is worth her time.
“I want my grandchildren to be raised in a world where they are accepting and loving and kind to anyone, no matter whether it’s somebody in the same community as them or not,” the 64-year-old said.
Turnwald said the push for equal acceptance under the law isn’t over yet. As a parent, the 42-year-old said she wants there to be repercussions for people who attack the LGBTQ+ community.
“To say as a community we are going to have a social or legal consequence for those behaviors means we are going to take a stance,” Turnwald said.
Town council members said public comment was not allowed at Tuesday night’s meeting.
