The second raising of the Pride flag at the Franklin Municipal Building in June to celebrate Pride month was a joyful occasion.
On June 1st, members of the Franklin community, town officials and local legislators gathered to celebrate the town’s second annual Pride flag raising, outside the Franklin Municipal Building.
Franklin Town Counselor Ted Cormier-Ledger, a proud Town Counselor and member of the LGBTQ+ community in Franklin, thanked attendees, noting, “We have to remember that it isn’t easy for everybody … particularly if you identify yourself somewhere in that beautiful LGBTQ+ rainbow…I wish that we lived in a time when we didn’t need to do this, truly. I wish that what the American flag stands for, liberty and justice for all, truly applied to everyone, but that just isn’t the case. We still have friends and neighbors and family members who … just want to be recognized, they want to live their lives, they want to love who they want to love, they want to be able to work without fear of persecution…”
Senator Rebecca Rausch thanked local community members for the advocacy that led to raising the Pride flag, calling Pride itself a protest. “This flag publicly shows that Franklin values people as their true selves and with their true loves. It demonstrates this community’s proud stance for inclusion and equality…” Alluding to leaders of the Stonewall Riots, Rausch encouraged, “Let’s pledge to continue their fight for equality, for safety, and for dignity … everywhere, all the time, every time.”…