It also hinted at plans to form a “healing circle,” the details of which will be released at a later date. The act of setting fire to an LGBT rainbow flag in Ames, Iowa, in June 2019 did ultimately result in Adolfo Martinez receiving a total sentence of 16 years in prison. In response to the flag burning, the university pointed students, faculty and staff to resources available at its counseling center and Diversity and Inclusion Center. “This is a heinous act and there must be consequences for his actions if this school wants to promote a safe environment for all students, regardless of sexual orientation or gender identity,” the petition states. “This is an appalling act of hate against the LGBTQ+ community,” the letter states.Ī new Pride flag was hung at the Student Union, according to Kremiere Jackson, the university’s vice president of public affairs.Īsked if the unnamed student will face disciplinary action, Jackson said that they will go “through the student conduct process.”Īn online petition, signed by nearly 2,000 people as of Friday afternoon, does not call for criminal prosecution of the student but demands “academic consequences for this action, be it removal of scholarship money, suspension, or expulsion.” University leaders, including president Jim Wohlpart, wrote in a public letter on Thursday that the incident “denigrates members of our community” and “violates our most basic values.” The Prosecutor’s Office also declined to provide information about the case and told The Spokesman-Review to file a records request to obtain it. In a post on its Facebook page, the campus police department wrote that it was able to “successfully investigate and apprehend the suspect responsible.”Ī university spokesperson declined to name the student or any charges filed against them, referring questions to the Kittitas County Prosecutor’s Office. – Egan Millard is an assistant editor and reporter for Episcopal News Service.Central Washington University leaders quickly condemned the theft and burning of an LGBTQ Pride flag on Thursday.Ī student allegedly stole the rainbow flag from the Student Union and Recreation Center on Wednesday and set it on fire, streaming his actions on social media. LGBTQ Pride Month, which celebrates the community, culture and liberation of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer/questioning people, is marked each June by parades and festivals around the U.S., and has long been celebrated by The Episcopal Church and individual congregations. Though the number of reported anti-LGBTQ incidents overall has remained relatively steady in recent years, the number of incidents specifically targeting transgender and gender-nonconforming people doubled from 2014 to 2019. God loves me.’ There are people that find that difficult to hear.”Īccording to the most recent statistics compiled by the FBI, anti-LGBTQ hate crimes made up 19% of all reported hate crime incidents in the United States in 2019. “We’re trying to have a conversation with each other in public around our lives as gay people and say, ‘God created everybody. “It felt nice to be among friendly, affirming people this morning,” Woodward said. Though the rainbow flag in front of his church was gone, he wore a rainbow cape as he walked his dog, River Song, in the Ru Paws Drag Race dog parade. Christ calls us to show love and respect to our neighbors.”įar from being deterred, Woodward, who is gay, decided to step up his Pride celebration. I realize that not all are accepting of our LGBTQ neighbors, but we should all be united in condemning this act. “The Pride flag is a symbol of love, of struggle, of sacrifice, by generations of our brothers and sisters. “While the monetary value of the flag is minimal, the symbolism of the act is immense,” she wrote. Traquair “condemn this act of hatred” and asked her diocese to pray for the person who did it. In an email to her diocese, Northern California Bishop Megan Traquair said the Sacramento Police Department is investigating.
“It made me sad this morning to see that somebody wanted to take down what we think was a sign of love and burn it, but love isn’t that easily defeated,” Woodward told The Bee, his voice breaking with emotion.