For the first time in the town’s history, the Board of Selectmen (BOS) approved a proclamation in honor of Pride month, honoring the LGBTQ+ community and officially taking a stance that “aligns with the town’s objective to co-create a more inclusive and equitable community.”

The town will further fly the traditional rainbow Pride Flag at Town Campus on Monday, June 28, the anniversary of the Stonewall Riots that marked the beginning of the modern gay rights movement. That will include a small ceremony, with details yet to be worked out, according to Lyons.

First Selectman Peggy Lyons read the extensive proclamation last week, which promised that Madison’s LGBTQ+ residents “have the right to feel safe, not to be discriminated against, and to live without the threat of harassment.”

Justin Zeigler, a member of the Madison’s Diversity & Inclusion Committee (MDIC) who helped organize the town’s first LGBTQ+ focused Pride event last fall, grew emotional as he spoke at the meeting about what pride means.

“Pride Month is for those coming out and learning how to integrate identity at any age, not always perfectly, but doing so at their own pace and in their own way,” he said. “Pride month is for those of us who have done the hard work of coming out, and simply want space and time to celebrate all that we have accomplished with our loved ones.”

Lyons put the proclamation in the context of the pandemic, saying she felt the town had shown the desire and ability to stand with each other in the face of those challenges.

“We’ve come together no matter who we are, what color we are, what our backgrounds are...We’ve been able to work together as a community to get through this crisis,” Lyons said.

Reverend Dr. Heather Arcovitch, the pastor of North Madison Congregational Church and another member of the MDIC, spoke briefly as well, saying it made her happy to see plenty of pride flags already proudly displayed around town.

Lyons added that she would like to see a more official committee around LGBTQ+ or diversity and inclusion issues, as the MDIC is not affiliated with the town in any formal manner.

“By formalizing your group or maybe creating a separate committee, that would allow the town to continue to reflect on and find ways to improve our inclusion and openness here,” she said.