St Augustine Gay Pride Event - Rainbow Flags Can Fly

Westminster Council may have sparked a furore in London for blocking the flying of gay pride flags in the capital's gay district, but it seems the flag's difficulties are not limited to the UK.

Flags have been given permission to fly over the historic Bridge of Lions in St Augustine, Florida after a federal judge ruled against city leaders who had turned down several requests by a local LGBT group to fly the flags.

"The city raised the flags at dawn this morning, and they're absolutely beautiful," said the Rev Ruth Jensen, co-chair of the St Augustine Pride Committee (SAPC), the group that filed the lawsuit.

"I got a call from a woman who was standing in the middle of the bridge in tears," Jenson told the Gay.com/PlanetOut Network. "It's kind of overwhelming."

The controversy dates back to 2003, when SAPC first applied for a permit to fly the Pride flags on the bridge during the city's LGBT Pride celebration.

At the time, the St Augustine City Commission denied SAPC's request. The commission also denied it again in 2004 and 2005, even though the group said it consistently met the city's requirements.

Last week, SAPC filed suit against the city in US District Court in Jacksonville, with legal assistance from Equality Florida and the National Centre for Lesbian Rights (NCLR).

Judge Henry Lee Adams Jr ruled against the city on Tuesday, granting the SAPC a temporary injunction that forced the city to fly the rainbow flags.

"Judge Adams' order will allow my clients to fly their flags during this weekend's Pride celebration and, in so doing, exercise their constitutional guaranteed rights to freedom of speech and equal protection," said Karen Doering, staff attorney with NCLR.

"I'm hopeful that [Judge Lee's] decision will permanently end this kind of censorship in our nation's oldest city," said Nadine Smith, executive director of Equality Florida.

St Augustine and the Bridge of Lions are steeped in tradition.

Judge Lee's order, although temporary, comes at a critical time. A massive five-year reconstruction project is about to begin on the Bridge of Lions. It is anticipated that no flags will be permitted to fly during that period.

One of the city's requirements for allowing the flags is that the organisation must prove the act is historically significant. Jensen said that requirement led the SAPC to do research, which uncovered evidence of the first recorded hate crime in the US.

"A French interpreter was ordered executed for having a gay affair with one of the natives in 1556," she said.

St Augustine is located on the east coast of Florida, midway between Jacksonville and Daytona Beach. The city's Pride celebration is scheduled for this Saturday evening.

http://uk.gay.com/headlines/8641

Saw this story first a couple of days ago when the debate was heating up, glad to see that its been resolved now.

Also interesting to see the first recorded gay hate crime in the US was back in 1556!

Regards,

Lee