Editorial: Fly the pride flag high for Laura Ann Carleton. And freedom
This would be a good time to fly your multicolored pride flag. If you don’t have one, this might be a good time to get one.
The rainbow flag, in all its forms and styles, is closely associated with the LGBTQ+ community as a signal of sexual identity and more broadly as a sign of support for equal rights and respect for those outside of conventional norms of gender identity and sexuality. It is also a reminder of the biblical passage in which God used the rainbow as a token of a covenant with all creatures on the Earth.
Kudos for Los Angeles and Glendale school board members for not kowtowing to a small group of anti-LGBTQ+ agitators trying to turn parents against one another.
Laura Ann Carleton flew the flag in front of her store in Cedar Glen, near Lake Arrowhead. San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department officials said a man shot Carleton to death on Friday after making disparaging comments about the flag. He fled, and was killed in a later confrontation with deputies.
Those like Carleton who fly the rainbow flag make a statement in support of solidarity, inclusiveness, welcome, dignity and equality. Those who violently attack the flag fliers make a statement of their own — a particularly un-American statement: No, not all people are created equal and not all people are entitled to life, liberty or the pursuit of happiness.
A Times reporter and photographer interviewed attendees at West Hollywood’s longstanding Pride celebration. At a time when states are implementing legislation targeting LGBTQ+ communities, some said they came to Pride for fun, some to find community, and some to be heard.
This is a time in which a disturbingly violent segment of society feels entitled to lash out against those who promote the self-evident truths upon which this nation was founded. Carleton, like many others before her, appears to have died for expressing her conviction that sexual orientation and gender non-conformity have no role in determining who does or does not belong.
So fly the flag that Carleton flew, in her memory and honor, and in support for the right to express oneself and be oneself. Fly it in defiance of killers and terrorists who undermine personal freedom and expression. Fly it in support of our unalienable rights. Fly it in support of the LGBTQ+ community and its righteous defense against bigotry. Fly it for pride.
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