Solvang, a charming Danish-inspired village in central California, known for its windmills and wineries, has been embroiled in controversy over how, or even if, the town should celebrate Pride this year. The debate started after two high school seniors were arrested for stealing and burning a Pride flag from an Episcopal church in nearby Los Olivos, posting a hateful video documenting the vandalism.
Since then, Solvang Pride has faced opposition, with even one-time allies abandoning the local LGBTQ+ community. Students at a local high school were prompted to walk out earlier this year after administrators painted over rainbow crosswalks on campus that were part of an anti-hate campaign. Pride organizers, including two gay dads who own a toy store in town, were called groomers and pedophiles and received death threats.
In February, Pride organizers returned to the City Council with proposals for banners and rainbow crosswalks, which were rejected. One councilman, Robert Clarke, a self-described “redneck Republican,” said an entire month of rainbows in Solvang was just too much. In emails retrieved after a public records request, Clarke called his critics “Chardonnay Antifa” and wrote that “for every butt hurt person” who spoke out against him at a City Council meeting, he’d donate $10 to the anti-LGBTQ+ group Gays Against Groomers.
However, despite the opposition, the Solvang City Council eventually passed the Pride banners proposal last Monday. The decision was met with cheers from an overflow crowd of citizen-activists in attendance, including the owners of ONEderChild, a toy store in town, who had been at the forefront of the campaign.
The controversy caught the attention of the Lord Mayor of Copenhagen, the Danish capital, who reminded the local mayor in an open letter that Denmark is “one of the most progressive countries in the world” and that opposition to Pride flags around town was not in line with Danish values and traditions.
Solvang’s Pride controversy is just one example of the upsurge in anti-LGBTQ+ rhetoric and legislation across the country. Nevertheless, the local LGBTQ+ community and their allies have shown that love can conquer hate.