Small town's 'straight pride' flag removed due to backlash

The creator of the flag insists he is not homophobic, saying it is "their choice".

The 'straight pride' flag

Source: Twitter

The small Canadian town of Chipman has found itself embroiled in controversy after the erection of a 'straight pride' flag sparked community backlash.

Local man Glenn Bishop, one of the people behind the black and white striped flag, insisted that he was not homophobic.

"We are not against the gay pride people at all," Bishop said, according to

He added: "I'm not against gay people; anybody's sexual preference is their choice."

The flag was reportedly approved by the town's mayor.
Local gay man Justin Fudge told CBC that the flag was an "atrocity".

"We've push so hard to get the Pride flag raised in this little village, with a very small LGBTQ community, and all of a sudden this atrocity is waving in the wind," he said.
Responding to outrage, the village council removed the flag after only one day, posting a lengthy statement to social media in which they refer to the debacle as a "lesson".

In a post to facebook, the council said they wanted to  represent "all groups in our municipality and to respect everyone's right to freedom of speech."

"No harm or hate was intended in any way as we pride ourselves on Chipman being a diverse and vibrant community," the statement continued.

We can't help but wonder what a straight pride festival would look like. Perhaps a little something like this clip from 90s Australian sketch show Fast Forward:

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Published 25 October 2018 4:09pm
By Samuel Leighton-Dore


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