The town of Truro, N.S. is flying the pride flag in front of town hall for the first time in its history, nine years after the town council overwhelmingly refused to display the LGBTQ symbol.
The decision to fly the flag at half-mast was made on Tuesday, after residents asked the town to honour the victims of the Orlando shooting.
READ MORE: Orlando shooting: LGBT community reacts after victims ‘had their futures stolen’
Mayor Bill Mills says council decided to bypass the town’s by-law and the flag was raised by 4:30 p.m. that afternoon.
It may seem like a simple gesture, but it’s also a historic one.
“I was just driving along Prince Street and bang, it took my by surprise,” said Al McNutt, with Northern AIDS Connection Society.
“It was a very nice surprise of course but then I noticed that it was flying at half-mast so it brought the reality back to me that this is really remembering those that have been killed in Orlando.”
McNutt was among a group of people who originally asked the town to fly the rainbow flag back in 2007.
Council at the time ultimately voted 6-1 against flying it, which prompted protests and even a human rights complaint. McNutt says the controversy gave the town the inaccurate label of being homophobic.
“I think a lot of people got off on the foot that because the flag wasn’t flown in Truro that Truro was a very homophobic town, and I was born and raised here and I really don’t feel that myself,” he said.
“I’ve never felt discriminated against for who I am and I’ve been proud of that so I don’t hold anything against the town itself.”
Councillor Raymond Tynes was a part of council back in 2007 and voted against raising the flag. This time around, he was instrumental in bringing the flag to town hall.
He says times have changed and recent tragedies have brought home how important it is to eliminate hate in our culture.
“We’re going to preach love not hatred, so we want to take hatred and intolerance out of our dictionary because they don’t need to be there,” Tynes said.
“I am proud of the town of Truro and it’s a stance and a position that should have been taken a long time ago.”
Mayor Mills, who argued against raising the flag in 2007 because of his Christian beliefs, says council’s decision this week was the appropriate thing to do.
“Myself and council included, we understand the victims in Orlando were sons and daughters, brothers and sisters, you know, pretty hard not to be compassionate about something that atrocious,” he said.
“So we felt we would take the high road and honour those who had passed away in that tragedy and those who were injured as well.”
Mills would not elaborate, however, on whether his stance on the flag has changed over the years.
“I’m just saying the flag is flying and that’s as far as I’m taking it right now,” he said.
Meanwhile, McNutt and other members of the LGBTQ community are now planning the town’s first-ever pride parade, which will take place on July 16.