The scene: Lafayette, Louisiana.
The occasion: a Gay Pride celebration
What had happened was:
The group Acadiana OUTspoken Alliance co-sponsored an event to mark the closing of Gay Pride Month, and, by news accounts, a fine time was had by all. Indeed, the event was celebratory for a couple of reasons. The obvious one is that the Defense of Marriage Act had been overturned by the Supreme Court. The other was that the group had no problem getting permission to hoist the flag. Said AOA board member Angelica Vedol, “I thought we’d have to petition to raise the flag, but it wasn’t like that…It was like, ‘Yeah, you can use it.’” In the heart of Cajun Catholic South Louisiana, no one seemed to have a problem with the flag.
All well and good, right? Of course not. Enter veteran Ray Green, who simply did not fight in Korea so that The Queers could enjoy Nice Time at the park with a flag on the flagpole:
Green, who said he learned about the flag-raising after a photograph and story appeared in The Daily Advertiser, said he does not believe the flag should be flown on government property.
“I did not go overseas and fight for our country so that we could come back and be subject to something like that,” Green said Friday. “Several of us (veterans) feel that the flying of this flag is a poke in the eye of a way of life.”
[…]
Green said he’s not “against the gays” but is against “the act itself.”
Oh, you see, Ray Green is being “subjected” to it. He is obviously the victim here. Of course, “several of us veterans” are vastly outnumbered by the untold numbers of gay and lesbian veterans who have fought on behalf of the United States.
At least one city council member in Lafayette agrees, though, that this is all about Ray and how he got poked in the eye by the gays having a good time:
City-Parish Councilman Andy Naquin is drafting a proposal that would limit the types of flags that could be flown on government property after receiving complaints from veterans about the hoisting of a rainbow-colored gay pride flag recently in Girard Park.
Naquin said he was contacted by Korean War veteran Ray Green, who was offended that the flag was hoisted on Lafayette Consolidated Government property.
“I had to agree with him,” Naquin told The Daily Advertiser. “Government flag poles really should be meant to fly only government flags.”
Naquin said he is working with City-Parish Attorney Mike Hebert on drafting an ordinance, but has not yet discussed the matter with other councilmen. He expects the ordinance would allow only the flying of American, Louisiana and Acadian/LCG flags, and possibly Mardi Gras flags, on LCG property.
In response, the Rude Pundit brings up a mighty interesting point. He posts a picture of the armory in New Rochelle, New York, which is government property, and which happens to be flying the Tea Party flag just below the American flag, and asks:
Now, let’s make this fun:
Andy Naquin was endorsed by the local Tea Party when he ran in 2011. The Rude Pundit has been to a Tea Party event in Lafayette where you can sure as sh*t bet that non-government flags were flying high in a public park and in the rec center there.
So, Council Member Naquin, do you support banning those flags, too? Your supporters deserve an answer.
Indeed. Or is this just about how you two cranky guys don’t like having to hear about gay people existing?
