Fly the Rainbow Flag in Honor of Laura Ann Carlton, an LGBTQ ally

The Gilbert Baker Foundation mourns the August 18 murder of Laura Ann Carleton, a gift shop owner in Cedar Glen, CA. A longtime LGBRQ+ ally, Lauri was shot dead by a man who complained about the Pride Flag displayed at her store. Carleton leaves behind a husband and nine children.

The world has reacted with anger to this shocking hate crime. But people should not be surprised. This is the inevitable conclusion of mounting Republican Party and conservative attacks on the LGBTQ+ community. They label us as groomers, they lie that we are recruiting children. They ban our books, halt trans care, censor our school curricula. And all this hatred creates more hatred. Now it has led to the brutal and senseless murder of a straight woman whose only crime was to support her LGBTQ+ friends by flying a Pride Flag.

The blood of Lauri Carleton is on the hands of every conservative politician who makes verbal and legislative attacks on the LGBTQ+ community. Make no mistake; this horrendous crime is no isolated incident. Across the country the Rainbow Flag has been banned in forty cities. Right-wing legislators have also tried to ban the flag nationally — over 30 members of the U.S. House of Representatives voted for such a proposal earlier this year. This wave of censorship and anti-LGBTQ+ sentiment has created a climate ripe for hate crimes, and now a brutal murder in Cedar Glen.

The Gilbert Baker Foundation unequivocally condemns the rhetoric of hatred promoted by conservative and homophobic politicians. Words have consequences. Words of hate have even greater consequences. In memory of Lauri Carleton, the foundation asks every American to display a Rainbow Flag — at their homes, at their businesses — to let the haters across America.

The mission of the The Gilbert Baker Foundation is:

To protect and extend the legacy of Gilbert Baker, the creator of the LGBTQ Rainbow Flag, as an activist, artist and educator.

To record and promote the history of the creation of the Rainbow Flag and its impact on the world.

To educate future generations about the LGBTQ Rainbow Flag.

To support and empower our mission on a collaborative level between the Foundation and allies, including the LGBTQ community and artists, organizations, educational institutions, non-profits, museums, archives and the press.