By Matt Nemeth

‘Love can move mountains’: Local couple upset over recent southern Alberta attacks on LGBTQ community

Jun 27, 2017 | 5:57 PM

MEDICINE HAT, AB — The LGBTQ community here in southern Alberta has come under attack this month.

Rainbow couloured crosswalks in Lethbridge were vandalized twice before the pride parade in that city, and Pride flags in Taber have been stolen and burned causing its police chief to call it a black eye on the town.

Becki Korhonen and her girlfriend Sharon Brown were two of the many people who attended the Pride parade in Lethbridge three days ago.

The pair have been dating for a little more than half a year, and Korhonen says she’s been openly gay since she attended college.

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“I was always the tomboy,” said Korhonen Tuesday. “I was always pretending I was Tarzan not Jane, so it was a great thing to realize that this is who I am, and once I started to realize that it was like this huge veil was lifted off me and I could just be who I was.”

Both Korhonen and Brown are troubled by the recent events west off us here in Medicine Hat.

“It makes me feel ashamed that there are people in our region who are still so affected by their own bias that they are afraid to embrace another human being’s right to equality and freedom,” says Brown.

“I’m a little sad about what happened in Taber and Lethbridge,” said Korhonen. “Pride is not about flaunting your sexuality, Pride is all about us being who we are and it’s all about love.”

Despite the destructive acts, Korhonen says in a way they’ve been good because they’ve brought more awareness to the issue and brought people closer together; like those who stayed up all night guarding one of the rainbow crosswalks in Lethbridge so it wouldn’t be vandalized again.

“That just spoke volumes to the amount of unity that we as humans have for eachother,” said Korhonen.

Brown says she had questions about her sexuality since the age of 11, but came out six years ago while still married to a man. She says telling her former husband she was gay was extremely difficult.

“I spoke to my husband and told him that I felt I was gay and he released me out of love,” said Brown. “He’s my biggest supporter and I’m very blessed to still have him as a best friend.”

Korhonen and Brown believe one of the biggest things causing people to lash out at Pride is their confusion surrounding it.

“What I think is important is that people should realize that me celebrating my own right to freedom of sexuality is not an attack on their beliefs, it is just me living my life the way that I feel is right for me,” says Brown.

“Pride is all about us being who we are and it’s all about love,” said Korhonen. “When you love yourself and you have someone beside you that you truly do love, it’s a very powerful thing and people are very afraid of that because love can move mountains.”