By John Riley on December 10, 2020 @JohnAndresRiley
An Ohio family claims someone stole an LGBTQ Pride flag that they had hung from their front porch and burned it.
The Fitzpatric family of Wyoming, Ohio, a suburb of Cincinnati, claims the unknown person came onto the porch to steal the flag and apparently tripped over their Christmas lights. Then the thief burned the flag at the corner of Beech Avenue and Worthington Avenue.
“It’s a real sense of violation to have somebody come onto your property,” Michele Fitzpatric, the mother, told local Cincinnati affiliate FOX19. “It’s an act of violence; it’s a threat.”
The Fitzpatrics said they put up the flag in June after they discussed the meaning behind the flag, and because their daughter, Maggie, said she was disturbed by the bullying of gay or transgender kids in school.
“I think [people] don’t necessarily realize the hurt that they are causing for those that are part of that community,” Maggie Fitzpatric said.
She said several friends reached out after the flag burning.
“They were speechless,” Maggie said. “They never thought that this type of thing would have happened, especially in Wyoming,” adding that she previously believed Wyoming was a “very accepting community.”
The family told FOX19 they’ve ordered a new, bigger flag to replace the burned one, and said that several of their neighbors have ordered similar flags as a show of support.
Bill Fitzpatric, the father of the family, posted on his Facebook page that he and his wife had initially “struggled” with how to address the incident.
See also: Michigan couple believes their home was vandalized over Trans Pride flag
“While the financial impact of this crime is low, the emotional impact is high. We fly that flag to show support for groups of people that are marginalized and victimized just for having the courage to honor their true selves and to pursue loving, fulfilling relationships,” he wrote. “That someone carries enough hate in their heart to walk up to a house blazing with Christmas lights to steal and burn a gay/trans pride flag shows why we as a community need to be even more vocal in our support.
“My flag, just like a gay or trans person living their authentic lives, is not harming anyone and is not offensive to anyone who is not a bigot,” Fitzpatric wrote, adding he hopes the incident sparks a larger discussion about “the type of community in which we want to live and raise our kids.”
“Clearly bigotry starts at home,” he wrote. “Kids aren’t born hateful; they are taught by their parents, and it can either be reinforced or mitigated by their teachers and peers. If you’re not a bigot, please talk to your kids explicitly about hate of all kinds. Don’t assume they know how to be against hate, not just passive in the face of it. Give them the tools and support to actively stand up against hate. Your kids are the peers of kids being taught hate at home and can help a good kid born to bad parents be a better person.”
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By Joseph Reberkenny on May 31, 2022
Last week’s primary runoffs in Texas offered good news for advocates of diversity and the LGBTQ community, with three out LGBTQ Black candidates winning their contests.
Prior to 2022, Texas voters had never elected an out Black LGBTQ person to the state legislature, even though a handful of LGBTQ legislators were elected in other districts.
But starting in February, with the special election victory of Jolanda Jones for the 147th District seat vacated by Rep. Garnet Coleman (D-Houston), that losing streak ended.
Jones, who became the first out LGBTQ Black legislator in state history, followed up that victory with another win on Tuesday, setting her up for the general election for a full two-year term.
By Justin Walton on June 21, 2022
On the first day of Pride Month, the largest denomination of Mennonites in the country, Mennonite Church USA (MCUSA), announced that they had made some changes to their policies last month in order to become more open to the LGBTQ community.
During a “Special Session of the Delegate Assembly,” delegates voted to approve a piece of legislation that acknowledging how MCUSA’s official stance on homosexuality does “violence to LGBTQIA people by failing to affirm their full, God-given identities and by restricting their full participation in the life, ministries and rituals of the broader church.”
By John Riley on May 27, 2022 @JohnAndresRiley
San Francisco Mayor London Breed said she will not march in next month's Pride parade as long as organizers continue to bar law enforcement officers from wearing their uniforms while marching in the parade.
Parade organizers have advised LGBTQ officers who wish to march in the parade, which is scheduled for June 26, that they will be allowed to march in T-shirts with their law enforcement agency's logo, but not their professional uniforms with a badge.
Some officers in the San Francisco Police Officers' Pride Alliance balked at the idea, arguing that the uniform ban forces them to "closet" part of their identity in order to gain acceptance from the wider community -- which is at odds with the concept of being an "out" and proud LGBTQ person.
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