In July 2019, the National Straight Pride Coalition applied for permits at Graceda Park in Modesto, CA. They are a recently formed group, lead by Don Grundmann and Mylinda Mason. Their permit expected about 500 attendees. They billed it as a “celebration of life” and heterosexual values, but looking at the website listed on their flyers told a very different story.

Their website vilified the “Homosexual/Sodomy Movement”, and then went on to state that their plan was to celebrate the “inherent superiority of the following”: Heterosexuality, Masculinity, Femininity, Babies, Western Civilization, Whiteness, and Nationalism.

In case you glazed over, yes, they said “Whiteness”. As in White Supremacy.

They went on to state the same feelings about whiteness and homophobia in multiple interviews and on their Facebook event page. They were not subtle nor shy about their racism. One should also note that “Nationalism” is not the same thing as “Patriotism”. Patriotism celebrates all of the freedoms of our country, including the right to protest, speak against injustice, and work to improve our nation. Nationalism, however, focuses on the symbols of the nation without embracing its ideals. Nationalism is a dogmatic loyalty to the country in which any criticism is seen as dissension and protest viewed as treason. Nationalism doesn’t allow for improvement because the view is that the nation is perfect and beyond question. Additionally, when you combine “White” and “Nationalism”, it forms the ideology of both Neo-Nazis and the Ku Klux Klan.

Their webpage mentioned war 6 times in a mere 18 sentences. The verbage was very inflammatory, and made clear they are on a personal Jihad against inclusion. This was further declared when Don Grundmann publicly invited the Proud Boys to this “peaceful” event. They went on to state their hope that Antifa shows up as well. And just to clarify, there’s no equivalence between Antifa and white supremacists. All the same, his intention for violence is clear.

Proud Boy Leaders Tell Troops to Tone Down Threats of Violence in Portland After FBI Visit

The Proud Boys are a violent alt-right group that is officially recognized as a hate group by the Southern Poverty Law Center. They have been in many violent incidents throughout the US and Canada, and they staged the Unite the Right Rally. It was at this rally that a gray Dodge Challenger ran down a group of protesters, killing 32-year-old Heather Heyer.

We mobilized, created a protest event, and the media attention went nationwide. Since the Boston Straight Pride Parade never got its permits, this would potentially be the first one to happen.

We held a community meeting at the Queen Bean to listen to their concerns.

Mylinda Mason is notorious for her hateful activism. She staged protests of Drag Queen story hour at a public library, making accusations that LGBTQ+ people are pedophiles and have strong allegiances with NAMBLA. She took her adopted son Matt to Anti-Gay rallies to try to “fix” him, and disowned him after he came out.

Don Grundmann, a Santa Clara chiropractor and homeopathic doctor, ran (and lost) for the United States Senate. He is also a very vocally homophobic, racist, and intolerant, showing up to many marches and protests. His webpage for his senate campaign illustrates the depth of his abysmal hate (shown below):

On August 7th, the city was poised to make decisions on their permits. There was an open podium for public comment at the City Council, and the topic on everyone’s mind was the Straight Pride Event. Of the maybe 40 speakers, most were speaking against it, abhorred that the city could even entertain allowing that sort of hate and violence in our beautiful Mancini Bowl. A small number came to support it, however, claiming that they were there for peaceful, Christian dialogue. Don, himself, took the podium early on. He held the City in contempt for having not granted the permits yet, attacking Councilperson Kristy Ah You (incidentally, Matthew’s birth mother – PLOT TWIST) for her statement condemning the event. His rage got the better of him, until he stammered the most Freudian of slips, “We are a peaceful, RACIST, group…” The crowd roared in applause at this candid and unscripted honesty. His bleating devolved to gibberish, until he was ordered to stop by the Mayor, and he skulked out of the room to return to the blackened pit from which he was conjured.

Full account of the City Council Meeting

After it had been brought up to bring the threat of Proud Boys and recent shootings to the attention of the insurance underwriters, their liability insurance for the event was voided. The city had just cause to deny their permit without fear of a First Amendment lawsuit. We had victory! …. or so we thought.

The city made a compromise to him. They offered a location that was away from children and families, and they gave him a deadline of the following Tuesday to secure insurance coverage. Tuesday came, and he had no insurance! We had victor…. never mind.

The city offered him one more deadline, this Friday. Reports are that they came to an agreement last night, and he has secured a new location for the event. We are looking into his insurance situation. If this goes through, then we have a protest to prepare for.

CBS13 – Plans For Modesto Straight Pride Parade Still In Play
ABC10 – Everything we know so far about the ‘Straight Pride’ event in Modesto