“I think it’s a beautiful thing and it should always fly here.” “When I heard about it, I just got so sad and then so mad. Not in my town. This is history. It’s a memorial.” “This is the one monument that’s stood up and stood for the queer community, and we need to keep it going.” “They’re probably going to take it down again, maybe, but it’ll just go back up.” “I think community events like these help show that people aren’t alone and we have each other. We have a community to lean on.”

Source: International New York Times February 14, 2026 04:40 UTC