Can’t always treat everyone the same, commissioner says of straight-pride flag
CHIPMAN, N.B. — A New Brunswick village’s controversial straight-pride flag shows that we must sometimes go beyond treating everyone the same, the chair of the province’s human rights commission says.
The village of Chipman, N.B., took down the straight-pride flag last week after a single day. Comments had poured in on the village’s Facebook page and elsewhere, criticizing the flag as harmful towards the LGBTQ community.
The man behind the straight-pride flag, retired welder Glenn Bishop, insisted he is not the least bit anti-gay and is simply proud to be straight.
But rights commission chair Nathalie Chiasson said people need to understand the impact of indirect discrimination — when there is an adverse effect on someone even when the original intent may not have been to discriminate.