Last week, my town council colleague Gary Mataronas wrote a letter explaining his vote to stop the Pride flag from flying at town hall on June 4, 2022, the date of Little Compton’s second annual Pride event. Mr. Mataronas noted that he feels that the town should only fly the United States flag, Rhode Island flag, or Little Compton flag at town hall, and that this is also the majority opinion of the community. What he fails to mention is the years of votes he participated in unanimously approving the flying of the Armenian flag, and his vote to approve the flying of the Pride flag in 2021. Additionally, the only public input received at our May 19, 2022 council meeting was completely in favor of raising the Pride flag. Not a single member of the public spoke in opposition to the proposal.

Although it can seem like a trivial action, flying different flags below the United States flag at town hall can be an incredible opportunity to publicly show support for marginalized communities that exist within our town. I’ve seen how much it means to my Armenian friends around the state when each April we publicly recognize and memorialize the Armenian Genocide by displaying the Armenian flag. Last June I saw first hand the incredible power the town council displayed by flying the Pride flag – dozens of residents of our town who identify as part of the LGBTQ+ community were moved to tears because they had never been recognized publicly as a legitimate part of this town. 

As town council members we have the opportunity to lift up members of our community who might not always feel recognized. By simply flying a flag, we can tell them this: We see you. We accept you. We love you.

Now let’s use that power.

Andrew W. Iriarte-Moore

Mr. Iriarte-Moore is a member of the Little Compton Town Council.