Anti-gay street signs have been taken down in the gay-friendly Silver Lake neighborhood in Los Angeles.
City leaders were on hand to remove the offensive signs.
The signs were first put up in the 1990s to stop gay men from making U-Turns to pick up other men.
Los Angeles City Councilmember Nithya Raman was shocked to learn from a resident that 9 signs still remained.
After months of red tape, Raman said she collaborated with the office of Councilmember Hugo Soto-Martinez to remove the final signs.
“The last two no U-Turn signs remind us of that troubled past that we have here in this neighborhood,” Soto-Martinez said.
Councilmember Maebe A. Girl was also surprised to learn that U-Turn signs were still up in the Los Angeles area.
“[They say] it’s just a U-Turn sign, but when you learn the history of it, and you realize that these were used to profile gay people, it’s so important that we have these removed,” Girl said.
“I’m very pleased and grateful that @cd4losangeles and @cd13losangeles were so receptive to the idea of sign removal, and we got it done!” Girl wrote on Instagram. “Silver Lake and Los Angeles will continue to be havens for LGBTQIA+ people.”
Girl posted news coverage of the sign removal ceremony on X/Twitter, captioning the video: “Removing homophobic No U-Turn signs is how I stay woke.”
Removing homophobic No U-Turn signs is how I stay woke.
— Maebe A. Girl (@Maebe_A_Girl) June 14, 2024
