Council Approves Gay Rights Plaque

Gay and lesbian groups in West Hollywood have received permission to put up a monument commemorating two weeks of protests against Gov. Pete Wilson’s veto last year of a gay-rights bill.

The five-foot monument, sponsored by several groups that back gay rights, is to be placed on the median at the intersection of Santa Monica and Crescent Heights boulevards, the site of a hunger strike and other actions by protesters.

The City Council unanimously approved the plaque last week, though it met minor resistance from residents who said the city, which has a large homosexual population, places too much emphasis on gay and lesbian issues and did not first seek residents’ opinions on the matter.

The monument will consist of an inscribed bronze-and-steel triangle perched atop a gently curving post. The plaque will cite the protests over the bill, known as AB 101, and declare: “We will prevail.”