Newtown Borough Welcomes Pride Month With Flag Raising

NEWTOWN BOROUGH, PA — Applause filled the air Saturday afternoon as Newtown Borough Councilor Josh Phillips lifted the Pride Flag into place in front of the historic Newtown Borough Hall.

The flag will remain on display throughout June in celebration of Pride Month, which marks the anniversary of the 1969 Stonewall uprising in New York City and the birth of the modern-day gay rights movement.

“Newtown Borough is very proud that it has a non-discrimination ordinance that protects the rights of anyone in the borough,” said Phillips. “You cannot discriminate based on race, gender or sexual orientation. This is a very important ordinance that we have and we stand strongly by it.”

Four speakers addressed a gathering of supporters, including Paula Raimondo, a member of the borough’s Human Relations Commission.

“In the face of escalating anti-LGBTQ+ rhetoric legislation, when trans youth in our community are vilified, when drag performers are censored, when books are banned, when queer families are erased, silence only empowers injustice. Here in Newtown Borough, we chose not to be silent. We chose instead to be vigilant and we raise this flag as a marker of belonging, not contingent upon performance, not subject to debate. You belong.”

Paula Raimondo, a member of the borough’s Human Relations Commission, addresses the gathering. (Jeff Werner/Patch)

Marlene Pray, the founder and director of Planned Parenthood's Keystone Rainbow Room. (Jeff Werner/Patch)

Marlene Pray, the founder and director of Planned Parenthood’s Keystone Rainbow Room, also addressed the gathering.

“I have stood under a lot of Pride flags over the years, but this year and this moment feels different, because today we raise this Pride flag not only in celebration, but in defiance because across the country there are voices growing louder who want to silence us, laws being passed that seek to erase us, book bans, healthcare denied, classrooms censored, but let’s be clear. We will not disappear.

“Every time we raise this flag, we are sending a message to queer youth that you belong. You are powerful. And you are not alone,” Pray continued. “We raise it for the middle schooler just beginning to understand their identity. We raise it for the high school senior fighting to have their name and pronouns respected. We raise it for the kids who don’t feel safe coming out and for those who have been let down by adults who are supposed to protect them.”

She continued, “At the Rainbow Room, we see every day what happens when they are supported. They grow into leaders, creators, and change makers, but they also share their fears with us. So when we raise this flag it’s more than a signal. It’s a stand, a banner of resistance. We are saying you can try and silence us, but we are still here.“Our joy is defiant. Our love is radical. And our existence is non-negotiable. To every LGTBQ+ youth across our community, this flag is for you. We are fighting for a world that protects you, celebrates you and makes space for you to shine. And we will not stop until that world exists.”

Paul Kokesh, a New Hope business owner and a vice president with New Hope Celebrates, was the next to speak.

“At a time when LGBTQ+ people are facing increasing challenges, occasions like this when communities stand in support, it’s more than symbolic, it’s essential. This flag raising sends a simple, but powerful message that this town is paying attention, that it’s choosing to stand with the LGBTQ+ community.”

Paul Kokesh, a New Hope business owner and a vice president with New Hope Celebrates, delivers remarks at the flag raising. (Jeff Werner/Patch)

Reinforcing that message even more, he said, is the fact that Newtown has already played a role in LGBTQ+ history. In 1968, a year before the Stonewall riots in New York, students at the Bucks County Community College organized one of the earliest known gay rights protest in the country, standing up after the college canceled a speech by a leading figure in the gay rights movement.

“Remarkably, most of those students were not LGBTQ+. They were allies fighting for the right of the marginalized to be heard. So today, as we raise this flag, Newtown adds to that legacy. It may not look like a protest, but it carries a similar purpose - to stand up, to stand with and to make LGBTQ+ visibility undeniable.”

State Senator Steve Santarsiero and State Rep. Perry Warren also attended and delivered remarks, standing in solidarity with the LGBTQ+ community.