KEENE, N.H. (MyKeeneNow) – Keene’s full City Council returned from its summer break Thursday night with a lengthy meeting, which included final action on a controversial issue.

At their last meeting, the Planning, Licenses, and Development (PLD) Committee took public comment on a request from Keene Pride that the city make some kind of statement showing its support for the LGBTQIA+ community. A counter petition from a local Republican group circulated as well, raising concerns about singling out one particular group, rather than making the city inclusive for all.

The committee ultimately referred the matter to the city’s Human Rights Committee, which drafted a statement of inclusion, available in its entirety on page 120 of Thursday’s meeting agenda packet.

The council was presented with four options Thursday evening: accept the resolution from the Human Rights Committee as informational, send the matter back to PLD for further discussion, set a council workshop for further discussion among the full Council, or request that the mayor prepare a message or proclamation.

Councilor Catherine Workman, a member of the Human Rights Committee, spoke in favor of accepting the resolution as informational.

“I know it may sound counterintuitive for me to be in support of this since I am on the Human Rights Committee and voted in favor of the proposal, however I have spent the entire council break combing through all the council, PLD, and Human Rights Committee agendas, minutes, and action minutes, as well as speaking with stakeholders and other concerned members of the community, and at this point in time I believe it is the only option that will guarantee the desired outcome that Keene Pride had asked for,” Workman said.

Keene Pride requested that the city declare that Keene is a safe and welcoming city for the LGBTQIA+ community, that being a part of that community will never be a crime, and that the city will never willingly use city, state, or federal resources against them.

Workman said she’s in favor of a proclamation, reiterating her point that it will give Keene Pride what they are looking for.

“We started this process in March, it’s now August, and we are further away from both resolve, and Keene Pride’s request … We have allowed for public comments at two PLD meetings and at Human Rights Committee. Some of the comments have been incredibly hard to hear as an ally; I can only imagine how it felt for the folks within the queer community,” Workman said. “Holding another meeting just for the sake of additional public comment will do nothing but cause further harm to our community. I truly am concerned that if we continue with this approach, we will be putting the LGBTQ+ community at an even higher risk of potential physical and emotional harm. As a city, we should be looking to unite our community, not create a greater divide, and unfortunately that’s exactly what has happened.”

Workman went on to say that none of the options address the desire expressed by the community throughout the process to see action from the city rather than hollow words. She moved to amend the motion on the floor at that point, to accept the resolution as informational, and amended it to add that the mayor will draft a proclamation to be read at the Keene Pride Festival.

The amendment passed unanimously, and the council voted 14-1 on the final motion. Councilor Bobby Williams was opposed and said he thought it should go back to PLD.

“I feel like by getting off track with the process we laid out ahead of time we’re giving a hecklers veto to the haters, and I don’t want to do that,” Williams said.

This year’s Keene Pride Festival is set for Saturday, Sept. 21.