SCIOTO TOWNSHIP, Ohio — A Pride Month observance post was removed from the official Scioto Township Facebook page shortly after posting.
At the beginning of June, Scioto Township Trustee Cory Wasmus addressed the issue on social media, stating that requests had been made for the township to recognize what he characterized as “two highly controversial holidays and/or awareness observances.”
Following a public records request, it was revealed that one of those requests involved posting a Pride Month observance on the township’s official Facebook page. The post was briefly published before later being removed.
The controversy follows a vote by the Scioto Township Board of Trustees in December, when trustees approved a policy allowing holiday graphics and observance posts to be shared on the township’s social media page. The measure passed by a 2-1 vote.
During that discussion, Trustee Wasmus voted against the policy, arguing that the township’s Facebook page should be used solely for official township business and not for holiday or awareness observances.
As of this publication, another observance referenced in the discussion, Juneteenth, has not appeared on the township’s official Facebook timeline.
Juneteenth, observed annually on June 19, commemorates the end of slavery in the United States. The holiday marks June 19, 1865, when Union soldiers arrived in Galveston, Texas, and informed enslaved people of their freedom more than two years after President Abraham Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation. Juneteenth became a federal holiday in 2021.
The removal of the Pride Month post has prompted discussion among residents and township officials regarding what types of observances should be recognized on government-operated social media pages.
Scioto Township Trustee Ralph Wolfe expressed support for recognizing Pride Month.
“I am all about kindness and love for everyone,” Wolfe said when asked about the removed post.
Pride Month is observed each June to recognize and support LGBTQ+ individuals, including lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, and other diverse sexual orientations and gender identities. The observance commemorates the Stonewall Uprising in New York City in June 1969, a pivotal event in the modern LGBTQ+ rights movement.
The issue also raises questions about how the township intends to apply the social media policy approved by trustees last year and whether all recognized holidays and observances will be treated consistently.
It remains unclear whether township officials plan to post observances for either Pride Month or Juneteenth later this month.
