American Legion: Town Put Pride Flags Above Banners Honoring Veterans
A Long Island village has found itself in the middle of a flag fight after Pride banners were placed above Hometown Heroes displays honoring local veterans — prompting the American Legion to demand that town leaders show proper respect to those who served the nation.
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The dispute erupted in Northport Village Park, where Pride flags have flown during June for the past four years, according to ABC 7 New York. But this year, the village also displayed banners honoring veterans — and some of the Pride flags were hung on the same poles, above the veterans’ photographs.
American Legion Commander William McKenna told ABC 7 New York the arrangement crossed a line.
“They were putting the pride banners above my veterans, and that does not work, sorry,” McKenna told Eyewitness News.
McKenna said veterans and family members complained after seeing the flags placed above the Hometown Heroes banners.
“If you put a pride flag by one of my veterans, I’m taking every one of them down,” he told ABC 7.
In a letter to Mayor Donna Koch and the village board, the American Legion made clear that its objection was not aimed at the Pride flags themselves, but at the placement above veterans’ banners.
“The concern being expressed is not at the pride flags themselves, nor is it intended to diminish the importance of recognizing any group within our community,” the Legion wrote, according to ABC 7 New York. “Rather, many veterans and families feel that placing another banner above the veterans’ banners diminishes the recognition and prominence that was originally intended for those who served our country.”
That is a fair and reasonable position. Veterans’ banners are not seasonal decorations. They are public tributes to men and women who wore the uniform, risked their lives and defended the freedoms every American enjoys — including the right to celebrate Pride Month.
CBS New York reported that Mayor Koch ordered the Pride flags removed after the Legion objected. She later said the decision was not anti-LGBT.
“I had the Pride flags removed. It had nothing to do with my feelings about the Pride community. I support them 100 percent. I also support our veterans,” Koch told CBS New York.
A compromise was eventually reached: Pride flags and Hometown Heroes banners would be displayed separately. News 12 reported that some veterans’ banners were moved, including one honoring Vietnam veteran Bruce Adams, who said he hoped the village could find a respectful solution.
“Where we can have the veterans’ photographs up and yet we can still have the Pride flags shown,” Adams told News 12.
But Pridefest leaders blasted the Legion’s objections. Jeff Cusick of Northport Pride Fest told CBS New York, “We believe it’s a point to leverage patriotism for discrimination against us.”