Pride Hamilton wants flag down
Organizers of the LGBTQ+ celebration argue city, police service still ignoring community concerns
Pride Hamilton says a rainbow flag at city hall and an online video created by police are “unwelcome” and should be taken down given unresolved concerns about how LGBTQ+ residents are treated.
Mayor Fred Eisenberger opted to raise the rainbow and transgender flags at city hall to celebrate Pride this month but skipped the ceremony citing COVID-19. Hamilton police also posted a video online urging residents to celebrate Pride that featuring officers and Chief Eric Girt.
But for the second year in a row, organizers of the annual Pride celebration argued the city should not fly the flags without more consultation with the LGBTQ+ community. In a statement, the group called the flag-raising a “hollow and empty gesture.”
The group also said members are “troubled” by a video posted by police, criticizing the imagery of “bulletproof vests and military-style uniforms mixed with pink and rainbow-washing calls to join in a virtual celebration.”
Hamilton’s LGBTQ+ community is waiting on the results of an independent review, expected June 8, into how police handled a violent clash of anti-gay demonstrators and counterprotestors at Pride 2019 in Gage Park.
Both Eisenberger and Girt were criticized in the aftermath for defending the controversial police response. Police were also accused of focusing subsequent arrests on pink-masked counterprotestors rather than far-right demonstrators.
The mayor acknowledged in a statement after raising the flags that there is “still much we need to do” to support all LGBTQ+ residents and called for “meaningful dialogue.”
Since the tumultuous events of last June, the police service has appointed a LGBTQ+ liaison officer, Det.-Const. Rebecca Moran.
Moran said the service is not planning to remove the video, which she said has earned “positive feedback” as well as criticism. She said the video also celebrates contributions of LGBTQ+ members of the police service.
Moran said the protective vests noted by critics in the video are part of a standard police uniform. “But we have to be open to criticism and we definitely welcome the feedback.”