On Saturday, June 1st, 2024, the Town of Franklin welcomed its first Pride flag, celebrating Pride Month and the inclusion of its citizens who identify as LGBTQ+. A small celebration was held on the occasion, including speakers and entertainment by Electric Youth and a booth with lots of Pride swag.

 

Aidan Doherty, District Director for Sen. Becca Rausch, noted the event allowed the town of Franklin to “move forward and celebrate the (sic) whole and authentic selves and to enjoy and support the love offered in your community and its allies.” Doherty was followed by Rep. Jeff Roy, who also offered his enthusiastic support of the town’s LGBTQ+ community.

This flag represents the vibrant spectrum of human identity and experience. Each color tells a story. Each stripe speaks to the resilience, courage, and love for millions of people who have fought and continue to fight for the right to live authentically and openly. Our presence here today is a testament to the progress we have made, yet it also is a reminder of the work that remains.” Roy went on to refer to some of the specific acts of civil disobedience, including Stonewall, that led to a greater sense of acceptance. He went on, ”Raising ths flag today is an act of defiance against intolerance. It is a celebration of the beautiful diversity that makes our community strong, but most importantly, it is a beacon of hope for those who still struggle to find acceptance and love..”

Following Roy, Town Council member Ted Cormier-Ledger spoke.

“This has been a work of progress for a long time…not just the work that went into the last year to get it actually approved by at the Council so that it could fly here at town hall but really this has been going on for years. When my husband and I decided to move to Franklin and bring our boys to raise them here, the conversation was very much, where can we go and be accepted, where can we go and the boys can have a great life, where can we go and truly be part of a community? And Franklin has done that for us … Have there been some struggles along the way? Yes. Have they mimicked the struggles that people have on the national level? Yes. And we have to overcome those. We have to work as a community to address those and be better. When people come at me with hateful speech or bigotry or prejudice, I try to meet them where they’re at. I try to say, can we get together for coffee? Can we talk about this? Because there’s hate in your heart, but I’d like to see if maybe you can see the world from where I am. And that’s not always easy. This isn’t easy. Because, 

at the end of the day, all people on the LGBTQ spectrum want is to be loved, to be accepted, to be welcomed, to live their lives. It’s really that simple. We want to be able to marry. We want to be able to have our children. We want to be able to run for public office.

The amount of people that told me that Franklin would never elect an openly gay leader to Town Council, well, here I am, despite when I first ran and unfortunately got a death threat for daring to be running in this town, and that first race I didn’t win …and I was really happy to win that first time, certainly happy to win the second time. Thank you to Counselor Frongillo, Counselor Hamblen, Counselor Sheridan, the members of the School Committee, and really thank you to Chairman Tom Mercer. It takes bold leadership, Tom, to be able to say what can we do to make Franklin better, so thank you…”

On the Pride Flag itself, Cormier said it shows, “Franklin is open. Frank is affirming. Franklin is loving, and that, no matter who you are, you have a place in our town. That’s what these symbols do. Symbols are powerful … we need that up as a symbol to show everyone that we don’t accept hatred and intolerance here. We are a no-place-for-hate community…”