Straight pride flag raised in Canadian village is lowered after a day
A Canadian village, with a population of about 1,200 people, has taken down a straight pride flag after just one day following a public backlash.
The Village of Chipman in Queens County, New Brunswick, put up the flag beside a main road on Sunday afternoon (October 21).
The raising of the straight pride flag—consisting of black and white stripes—was done in response to a rainbow Pride flag being flown by the council in the week of June 24.
The flag was raised next to a main road. (TuckerXS/Twitter)
In a speech on Sunday quoted in the Canadian press, mayor Carson Atkinson said that the heterosexual flag was raised because it meets the criteria of the council in that it “recognises, accepts and respects the rights of individuals under the Charter of Rights and Freedoms.”
He added: “Whatever your personal persuasions, political or religious views, or country of origin, we welcome you in our community and ask for your volunteer efforts to help make Chipman a more open, dynamic and attractive community for all citizens.”
However, in a statement released on Monday (October 22), the council said the flag had since been taken down.
“As a result of unintentional attention to the flag, the Village of Chipman is removing the flag based on the feedback from the citizens we serve,” it said in a statement.
“Public response has included personal threats and attacks against members of Council and cyberbullying.”
It added that Chipman remains a “welcoming open community.”
The flag was widely criticised on social media.
“I have never been more ashamed of where I come from. Congratulations Chipman, we are now the laughing stock of NB. Shame on everyone who was part of raising a ‘straight pride flag,'” one enraged New Brunswick resident wrote on Twitter.
Straight pride was formed as a movement in the late 1980s and early 1990s by socially conservative groups in response to gay Pride.
The Village of Chipman released a statement saying the flag was removed because of “unintentional attention.” (Village of Chipman/Facebook)
A number of straight pride marches have been held in recent years, which have been largely criticised by the LGBT+ community.
A straight pride parade was held in Budapest, Hungary, in 2010, attended by around 100 people.
In 2015, a straight pride parade was put on in Seattle, Washington State, USA.
In July, the vice mayor of Dixon, California, ignored calls to resign from his post and apologise after he proclaimed July as “Straight Pride American Month” in a newspaper column.
Ted Hickman declared July as a month to celebrate heterosexuals in a bizarre article on his personal blog, which was also published in local paper Independent Voice.
His piece outraged many, prompting a recall effort—a procedure when elected officials can be removed from office following a vote—with the creation of a “Recall Ted Hickman” Facebook page, which currently has more than 1,800 ‘likes.’
