Arizona Gay Couple Asked to Take Down Gay Pride Flag, Ryan Field Books

Arizona Gay Couple Asked to Take Down Gay Pride Flag

This story interests me on a personal level because Tony and I are obviously gay, and we live in Palm Springs, CA, which is extremely gay. But more than that, we also live in a gated community in Palm Springs and we have an HOA and there are rules to follow. We also have many gay couples as neighbors. Everyone keeps their homes looking wonderful, everyone worked hard to get their homes, and they don’t put cheesy flags outside their homes…flags of any kind. I’m not singling anything out.

With that said, I’m not knocking the Pride Flag. But there is a time and a place. And I am just as proud as any other gay man out there who does hang the Pride flag. In fact, I have devoted most of my life to writing gay fiction and getting it published with all the gay presses. So I highly doubt I can be called homophobic just because I believe there’s a time and a place for any flags, not just the Pride flag. But to be perfectly honest, the Pride flag has become something so foreign to me as a gay man I’m not sure how I identify with it anymore.

Apparently, a gay couple in Arizona who is living in a community with an HOA decided to hang the Pride Flag outside their home, and they’ve been getting a lot of flack for it. Someone slashed the flag, someone stole the flag, and someone even knocked down their flag pole. And now this couple is not feeling safe. Their HOA is going after them for making changes to their property without permission. I don’t know the details of their HOA rules, but I do know that if Tony and I want to even have new stones put down we need an approval from the HOA. This is how HOAs work. For 20 years Tony and I didn’t have an HOA, but we did have one prior to that. And now we have one again. If you follow the rules you have nothing to worry about.

In any event, this couple is trying to fight their HOA and you can read all about that, here.

The one thing that I always find interesting is that I don’t need a flag or a symbol to make me feel safe for equal. As a gay man, I take that for myself and I don’t try to shove it down anyone’s throat.