If you've been driving past Palm Desert City Hall this June wondering where the Pride banner is, you're not alone.
The question came from a viewer named James, who remembered last year's controversy when Palm Desert's mayor pro tem proposed scaling back some Pride Month recognition efforts. That proposal sparked a strong reaction from residents, many of whom felt Pride visibility in the city was important. Ultimately, the city council pushed back, and the issue became one of the more talked-about local debates of the year.
Fast forward to this June, and some residents noticed something seemed different. No banner. No big public display. So naturally, people started asking: Did the city quietly change course?
Not exactly.
According to Palm Desert officials, the city adopted a formal policy regarding LGBTQ+ Pride recognition. Under that policy, the city's larger Pride celebrations are now tied to Greater Palm Springs Pride events, which take place in November rather than June.
That means City Hall banners and official proclamations from the mayor and mayor pro tem are scheduled for November when the region's biggest Pride celebrations occur.
As for June, the city says it still recognizes Pride Month, just in a different way. This year, Palm Desert marked Pride Month through social media posts on its official Facebook, Instagram, and X accounts, including a Pride message shared on June 3.
Whether people agree with that approach depends on who you ask.
Supporters may see it as a practical way to align city recognition with local Pride events that happen later in the year. Critics may feel social media posts don't carry the same visibility or impact as banners flying at City Hall.
Either way, the policy appears to answer the question many residents had. Pride recognition hasn't disappeared in Palm Desert—it has simply been shifted and reorganized.
The larger conversation, though, remains the same: how cities choose to recognize community groups, and what residents expect that recognition to look like, will likely continue to be part of the discussion for years to come.
By: NBC Palm Springs
June 10, 2026
