On Saturday evening, a banner reading “Happy Pride” and two rainbow Pride flags were ripped from the outside of a Manhattan church.
Surveillance video shared with NBC News shows someone grabbing the banner and flags outside the entrance to Marble Collegiate Church.
Marble Collegiate Church, a church with a history dating back to the 17th century, plans to hang more Pride flags tomorrow, said Christina Morano Keiser, the church’s director of media and communications. She said the church is prepared to continue posting them “as often as necessary.”
“While we are deeply disappointed that someone would remove our Pride flags, their removal does not change who we are,” said Minister Michael Bos. “We remain resolutely open and affirming with all people, and we will celebrate our LGBTQ+ brothers and sisters not only during Pride Month, but all year long.”
Morano Keizer said Marble Collegiate Church is not taking any legal action.
“Honestly, this happens to us every year, but that doesn’t stop us from continuing to show our support for the LGBTQ+ community,” she said, adding that the church’s congregation was “deeply saddened” by the incident.
New York City’s annual LGBTQ Pride march kicks off Sunday on Fifth Avenue — just four blocks south of the church.
The incident at Marble Collegiate Church is just one of many examples of theft and destruction of Pride flags and other Pride symbols in the US this year.
Days before the start of Pride Month, more than 200 Pride flags were stolen in Massachusetts, and on June 13, more than 150 Pride flags were broken outside Stonewall National Monument, site of the iconic 1969 Stonewall uprising. On 6 June, a library window in Oregon was shot down after a Pride flag was displayed, and in Washington, 14 Pride banners were cut on June 1.
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This article was originally published on NBCNews.com
