WASHINGTON, Dec 3 — A new home for Vice President-elect Mike Pence in Washington, D.C.’s upscale Chevy Chase neighbourhood.
Across the street and down the road, gay pride flags are displayed prominently on some of the homes.
Residents here want Pence to know that they support LGBT rights, even if their new vice president doesn’t.
Pence’s neighbour Joanna Pratt decided to fly a rainbow flag after hearing that Pence was moving to her neighbourhood.
“His conservative views are just anathema to the things that we believe in and we had been feeling very frustrated that there’s nothing we can do — and we are sitting here thinking — how can we act to help our country survive over the next four years. I know that sounds dire, but that’s how we sometimes feel about it.”
“We want to send a message that we are proud Americans, and we love our country. We are not going to move to Canada, but we also have views that we feel are very important — the belief in tolerance and in diversity in this country is very important, something that our country is based on, and as good Americans we want to make people understand that that’s an important issue.”
Her neighbours followed suit. Alison Fenn lives a few houses down from Pence’s rental property.
“Everyone needs to be supported rather than feel threatened, and I think we have a fundamental disagreement with his stand on this, just want to, not only bring it to his attention, but to make others feel supported who might otherwise feel threatened,” Fenn said.
Others like passerby Kelly Oklesson — a member of the LGBT community... who saw Fenn’s flag and stopped her car to give her a hug.
“You feel like there’s a lot of people that’s angry with each other and this hate is insidious, so when you see acts like this, it’s just powerful. There’s no other way to put it, it really is just powerful. You feel like others stand with you, they stand with you for social progress, which is key to the health of the community.”
Pence, a staunch conservative has fought against same-sex marriage and allowing gay people to serve openly in the military. His new neighbours say they have invited him over to their homes to discuss how they feel about his LGBT stance, but as of now, they are still awaiting a response from the vice president-elect. — Reuters
