Flag flap roils city on eve of Gay Pride day, 9/11 anniversary

A Gay Pride flag hangs on a lamppost outside the Rochester Fire Department. (Kathy Dunton Facebook photos)

ROCHESTER - A firestorm over the replacement of American flags with Gay Pride flags in advance of Sunday's anniversary of the 9/11 attacks erupted on social media and at City Hall on Friday.
The LGBT-inspired rainbow flags went up on Thursday after city Mayor Caroline McCarley recently proclaimed today as Gay Pride Day and ordered the flags to be switched out.
Initially, city officials said the Gay Pride flags would be up for the entire weekend, but Kathy Dunton of Rochester took to social media to complain about not only the slight against the victims of 9/11 but also about the costs incurred by taxpayers for public works personnel who swapped the flags.
On Friday, it looked like the social media campaign worked as city officials appeared to reverse course and announced that the American flags would be returned to their rightful posts around 6 p.m. today, an hour after the downtown LGBT event ends.

An LGBT rainbow flag flies on North Main Street on Thursday.

Meanwhile, many still fumed that while the city did not pay for flags, it bore the cost of the labor to put them up and down.
The event, itself, was organized by the Rochester Museum of Fine Arts as a "free public pride celebration" adding its mission was to "promote unity, visibility, inclusivity, equality, and a positive image of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) community."
According to an event page, there will be live music from groups such as the Leftist Marching Band and remarks by: McCarley; Carol Shea Porter, candidate for U.S. Congress; Andru Volinsky, candidate for N.H. Executive Council; Devon Chaffee, executive director of the ACLU of N.H.

There will also be a showing of "The Birdcage" at the Rochester Library.
The event starts at Noon in Central Square and apparently continues into the night.
An event post from the Rochester Museum of Fine Arts invites all attendees to an after party at Revolution Taproom and Grill.
"Gay Pride organizers and attendees are taking over Revolution TapRoom & Grill at 5 p.m.," it notes. "All are welcome! Let's get dinner and drinks together and keep the party going into the night!"
This event was also made possible by Rochester Main Street (supported in part by a grant from the New Hampshire State Council On The Arts and the National Endowment for the Arts.), Rochester Police Department, and the City of Rochester. Visit www.rochestermfa.org/pride for more information.