Photo courtesy of Enfield Pride
ENFIELD, Conn. | The Enfield Town Council voted 6-5 on the night of Jan. 8 to only allow the U. S. flag, the Connecticut state flag and military flags to be displayed on any town properties.
The town of 44,466, located 18 miles North of the capital city of Hartford, has a newly-elected Republican majority council which in the council session effectively banned the Town Hall from displaying Pride flags during Pride Month in June, reversing a 2022 policy that allowed the flags to be displayed.
NBC News Hartford affiliate WVIT 30 reported that during the discussion over the display of the flag Tom Tyler, the interim town attorney, argued that allowing the flag to be displayed would create a scenario where: “ISIS could come in and want to display one, the IRA…basically anybody. You’d have to be content neutral and let everybody.”
NBC 30 also noted that Greg Gray, a local pastor and president of Enfield Pride, encouraged residents and businesses to display Pride flags in the wake of the town’s decision.
“I am disturbed that the new Republican majority felt this was a decision they needed to make basically on day one of them coming into office,” Gray said.
Brandon Jewell, local advocate and activist for LGBTQ+ people and their families, spoke against the vote.
“The meaning of buildings, that you can’t be inside any town-owned property…so that’s the schools where many of the teachers have safe space stickers on their doors, they have Pride flags hanging,” he said. “I think there should have been more thought into this before it was actually put on the agenda.”
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