Community Rallies Behind Woman Told To Take Down Rainbow Flag
ROCKLEDGE, FL (CBS Local) - A Florida community has rallied behind a mother of three who was ordered to remove a rainbow flag from her lawn. According to reports, an email was sent to the woman's landlord, which compared the symbol of LGBTQ rights to the Confederate flag.
The Details:
- A member of a community board ordered mother of three, Jennifer Raymond, to take down her rainbow flag
- The email said the flag could be offensive and compared it to the Confederate flag
- Florida residents rallied to defend Raymond's flag on April 29
Jennifer Raymond, a resident in the Ashwood Lakes subdivision of Rockledge, has reportedly flown the rainbow flag outside her family's home for the last two years. Raymond told local reporters that her landlord recently received an email from a member on the neighborhood's architectural review committee. The email claimed that Raymond's flag violated the community's rules of hanging anything besides the American, state, or military flags.
The problem with the member's claims was that the neighborhood bylaws don't mention flags at all. When presented with this information, the unidentified board member wrote, "allowing the flag to be flown is setting a precedence for other homeowners to fly other offensive flags – for example, the Confederate flag," according to The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
"The Confederacy supported slavery," Raymond added. "(The rainbow flag is) a symbol of equality and acceptance of all."
News of the controversial email quickly spread, culminating in a rally of at least two dozen residents on April 29 in support of the lesbian mother's right to fly her flag. "I couldn't keep up with how fast things were happening, really," Raymond added.
Prior to the rally, the homeowners association in Rockledge had already informed Raymond that she could continue to fly the rainbow flag and the person who sent the erroneous letter acted alone. The HOA added that they would be taking steps to make sure other homeowners are not harassed in the same way moving forward.
