Residents in Watertown, New York, have rallied around the local LGBTQ community after a man was arrested for tearing down a Pride flag in front of City Hall last week.
Dozens of people staged an impromptu protest after a man took the Pride flag from Watertown City Hall, which was flying in honor of LGBTQ Pride Month, and put it into a city drop box, WWNY reports.
Donnie Lee Barrigar, 36, filmed himself removing the flag on Saturday, June 20. He told the Waterdown Daily Times that it was a “peaceful protest” and expected his actions to be protected by the First Amendment.
He told WWNY that the flag was “mocking God and it’s mocking all the good Christians we have in our community.”
“I’m covered under the First Amendment right,” Barrigar said. “We have the right for protesting and that includes flags. So flags are covered under the First Amendment right for free speech.”
Barrigar’s actions were met with outcry from both Watertown Mayor Jeff Smith, who called it an “act of ignorance and narrow-mindedness” from an “individual who literally believes the world is flat.” (Barrigar had posted his video to a YouTube account called “Flat Earth Watertown New York.”)
New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo said he was “disgusted” by Barrigar’s actions and urged that he be “held accountable for this repugnant attack against the LGBTQ community.”
“These hateful acts of division have no place in our state and we will not allow a bigot to bully the Watertown community with impunity,” Cuomo said in a statement.
Barrigar was arrested last week and charged with third-degree criminal tampering, news of which broke during a protest against his removal of the flag.
Led by Seth Hill and his partner Sexton Reese, more than 100 people gathered outside City Hall to show support for LGBTQ people. Hill told WWNY that the city “won’t stand for this anymore.”
“Watertown is all inclusive,” Hill said. “It doesn’t matter if you’re part of the LGBTQ community or if you’re straight, Republican, Democrat — we are all here together to show we will not stand for hate and love will prevail.”
When news reached the crowd that Barrigar had been arrested and charged, the protest turned into a celebration, as participants waved signs and painted rainbow colors on the sidewalks, while passing cars honked in support, WWNY reports.
Reece said that he wanted the event to send a message to youth “driving by in the back seats of the car to know that if you are part of the LGBTQIA community, you are accepted, you are loved, we are here for you.”
He added: “There’s a community, we are strong, we are just as tight as a family and we take care of each other.”
Watertown City Hall reinstated its Pride flag after Barrigar removed it, and said it would remain until the end of June.
Barrigar was previously known for his anti-LGBTQ views after last year posting on Facebook urging a mass shooting during Watertown’s Pride celebration.
“Watertown is having a LBGTQ celebration,” he wrote. “For the love of God please let someone go on a mass shooting.”
Syracuse.com reports that Barrigar’s comments led to police attention, but he wasn’t charged. He later boasted about the lack of arrest, claiming he was “1-0” against Gov. Cuomo.
The CEO of Allstora, a new online bookstore co-founded by international drag star RuPaul, apologized for carrying books authored by several anti-LGBTQ extremists, including the founder of the Libs of TikTok account.
RuPaul announced the formation of Allstora in a March 4 TikTok video. He touted the platform as a place where readers could access books that might be at risk from censorship bans, offering up to 10 million different titles for sale.
However, the platform quickly came under criticism from the LGBTQ community for including titles that espoused right-wing and anti-LGBTQ messages.
A group of students, parents, and teachers in Florida have reached a settlement with state educational authorities that clarifies several provisions in the state's infamous "Don't Say Gay" law.
The "Don't Say Gay" law, officially dubbed the "Parental Rights in Education" law, sought to limit students' exposure to LGBTQ issues and identities under the guise of keeping parents informed and giving them outsized influence over what subjects are broached in the classroom.
Soon after its passage, proponents of the law quickly dubbed opponents "groomers," claiming they wanted to indoctrinate children into adopting values or embracing ideas that run counter to their parents' morals or beliefs or expose them to age-inappropriate subjects. Republican lawmakers soon expanded the law's restrictions on K-3 classrooms to apply to all K-12 classrooms in the state.
Former Olympic gold medalist and reality TV star Caitlyn Jenner expressed support for a conservative New York County's policy banning transgender female athletes from using county-owned facilities.
Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman instituted the ban via executive order last month.
Under it, any sports teams designated specifically for female athletes with transgender team members are prevented from competing or practicing at Nassau's 100-plus county facilities. This includes all ballfields, basketball and tennis courts, swimming pools, and ice rinks.
Blakeman argued that allowing trans females to compete against cisgender female athletes is unfair and potentially dangerous, due to the biological and physiological differences that favor transgender athletes in any match-up.
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