Celebrating Pride In Orange

by Jennifer Jacquet, Amity Board of Education Candidate

A Pride flag flying in Orange in June. I didn’t think it would happen, but the town put up a Pride flag after first selectman candidate Dan Fitzmaurice brought it to the Board of Selectmen meeting on June 11.

I teared up seeing the photo of the flag flying and thinking about the families like mine and the LGBTQ teens who would feel seen. My wife and I own a historical house in Orange built in 1830 and we fly a Pride flag year-round. We are very aware that when our house was built, women couldn’t own property, let alone get married and build a life together. We fly a Pride flag because it represents our family and we’re proud to be able to live as our authentic selves.

Seeing the Pride flag felt like our town acknowledged us and said that we belonged here. So many other local towns have flown Pride flags in June and held flag-raising ceremonies. It’s a way for towns to show their support of LGBTQ neighbors in their town.

When I heard that a group was gathering for a photo with the flag at High Plains Community Center, I invited a few other queer friends and was so excited to be a part of a little mini-Pride event in Orange.

I later saw a comment online on one of the posted photos that said we shouldn’t have had kids there. Most of those kids are children of LGBTQ Orange residents or they are friends with us and our kids. Our kids have every reason to be proud of their families. And how awesome it was that they also felt that their town supported them and celebrated them in June.

Sadly, the flag was stolen only a few days later and, as far as I know, hasn’t been replaced at High Plains or elsewhere. This is very disappointing, and I hope that it represents only a small portion of our neighbors’ opinions. But for now, I’d rather focus on this first Orange Pride flag and hope that it becomes a yearly event.

Thank you,

Jennifer Jacquet

This letter originally appeared in the Milford-Orange Times, June 28