A sleepy neighborhood in Orange County has been rocked by the action of one of its residents. And what has got Irvine’s Orangetree Housing Association up in arms – a Rainbow Flag no less!
The OC Weekly reports that resident Dr. Mary Pham incurred the wrath of many of her neighbors by hanging an LGBT Pride Flag prominently above her two-story house in early June.
“Within a month of hanging [the flag], someone sent an email to the homeowners’ association complaining about a ‘fag flag,'” Pham says. “They said that it was ‘an eyesore,’ but it’s a rainbow. It’s beautiful.”
According to the OC Weekly report Pham has had to endure angry emails and threatening notes stuck to her door and put on her housemates car. All this has simply made Pham more determined not to back down.
“I’m angry that these adults feel this way,” she says. “OK, they hate me; that’s fine. But to hate an entire group? That’s wrong. The way these people are thinking, they’re in the Stone Age.”
From the OC Weekly report: When Pham put the flag up in June it immediately drew attention, with initial complaints first directed to the neighborhood’s property-management company, PowerStone Property Management.
“On a separate matter, have HOA members contacted PowerStone re: Kurt’s [Killian, Pham’s housemate] ‘Fag Flag?'” reads a June 4 email obtained by the Weekly sent by a resident. “Is the GAY PRIDE [capitalized and in rainbow colors] display protected by free speech rights? The Orangetree Patio Homes neighbors are shaking their heads in disgust. Sexuality is private, and Kurt’s display is very, very public. It’s even visible from the tennis courts.”
However in Irvine, the municipal code offers protections for the display of flags and banners citing that no person shall interfere with the exercise of free speech rights by persons within areas open to the general public.
Not all reactions to the flag have been negative. When Pham took the flag down briefly for maintenance an anonymous note urged her to put the flag back up.
According to the OC Weekly report, today the Pride Flag continues to fly brighter and more securely than before. “We’re going to be meeting with some people and attempting to start up a coalition,” Pham says. “We’re going to approach the city and try to raise awareness, to try to get a talk going.”
