The Guardian

In gay-friendly Palm Springs, America's first all-LGBT government is no surprise

Under Trump, LGBT rights are under fire – but in this progressive desert haven, a historic moment was met with a shrug: ‘It’s not an issue here’
Palm Springs, California. Once best known as a desert hangout for Hollywood’s 1960s rat pack, it is now arguably the gayest town in the US Photograph: Danita Delimont/Getty Images/Gallo Images

Palm Springs has just ushered in America’s first all-LGBT city council and this is what it’s doing to celebrate: nothing.

No rainbow flag over city hall, no pride parade, no proclamation about making history, not even a press release. In fact it has barely acknowledged the milestone.

“Tell the truth, I didn’t even think about it until after the election,” the mayor, Robert Moon, 68, said in an interview this month as the new council prepared to convene. “You see, it doesn’t really matter.

You’re reading a preview, subscribe to read more.

More from The Guardian

The Guardian8 min read
PinkPantheress: ‘I Don’t Think I’m Very Brandable. I Dress Weird. I’m Shy’
PinkPantheress no longer cares what people think of her. When she released her lo-fi breakout tracks Break it Off and Pain on TikTok in early 2021, aged just 19, she did so anonymously, partly out of fear of being judged. Now, almost three years late
The Guardian4 min read
‘Soul-shattering’ Prophet Song by Paul Lynch wins 2023 Booker prize
Irish author Paul Lynch has won the 2023 Booker prize for his fifth novel Prophet Song, set in an imagined Ireland that is descending into tyranny. It was described as a “soul-shattering and true” novel that “captures the social and political anxieti
The Guardian7 min read
Gwyneth Paltrow: Is Her Life A Work Of Performance Art?
Ripping to shreds Gwyneth Paltrow’s Goop gift list has been a media preoccupation for years now, to the point that the website even titles it, “The ridiculous but awesome gift guide”. Still, even those not driven by well-documented animus towards Pal

Related Books & Audiobooks