City of Kelowna Unveils Public Flagpole. Anti-Abortion Flag is Put Up. Public Flagpole Immediately S - Polidicks

[img]http://nationalpostnews.files.wordpress.com/2012/08/img_1600.jpg[/img] [quote]The flagpole outside Kelowna, B.C.’s city hall has played host to banners from numerous community groups since a process to open it to the public was formalized last summer. Even last week, organizers with the local Pride Week were allowed to fly their flag. But when city council faced a request from a local anti-abortion group for a turn, the city axed the program. When reports surfaced last week of the Kelowna Right to Life Society’s bid to fly their flag during an awareness week in September, Councillor Luke Stack watched the letters of complaint pile up. “This had been bothering me for some time,” said Mr. Stack, who proposed the removal of the courtesy flag program at Monday’s city council meeting — an attempt to “put an end to controversies.” The council unanimously backed the motion. “The whole exercise seems somewhat inappropriate for city hall,” he said Tuesday. “It just seems to excite some members of the city but it also angers others. City Hall should be a place where we’re unifying people, not trying to establish camps on different political spectrums.” Councillors also took issue with the fact that the provincial flag had to be taken down to make space for the courtesy flag. Following the decision Monday, the Right to Life Society released a statement questioning why Pride Week was permitted a spot on the pole. “I had hoped they would have treated us the way they treated other groups, and allowed our flag to fly before they abolished the project,” said the society’s executive director Marlon Bartram in an interview. The policy will not allow any submission that “promotes a point of view or organization of a political, ethical or religious nature.” If approved, groups are forbidden to give the impression that they are endorsed by city hall. Right to Life’s proposed flag used the slogan, “From Conception to Natural Death” paired with a “Pro-Life” label and a photo depicting the progressing stages of life from infancy to old age. The Kelowna communications department rejected the proposal claiming, “the sample shown contained wording that advocates a point of view.” “The Pride Flag conveys a message. It’s possible to do so without wording,” said Mr. Bartram. “There’s a lot of people in the country who support the idea that marriage is the union of one man and one woman. So I wouldn’t say that these festivities … are something shared by everybody.” In an email, city staff said “A flag that represents the Kelowna Right to Life organization is acceptable, but it cannot contain words that promote a political, religious or ethical point of view.” So Mr. Bartram submitted a second proposal — the same flag with only the slogan removed. Communications supervisor Tom Wilson was in the process of reviewing the group’s second proposal when Monday’s city council decided to cut the program. “[City council] was a little embarrassed over the media coverage and wanted to put this behind them — that’s what I got from sitting in on the discussion,” Mr. Wilson said. “They felt it was detracting from the serious business. They needed to move on.” The council will work to detail a policy in the coming weeks that would only allow courtesy flags to be flown in special circumstances, such as when a diplomat or head of state visits Kelowna. The decision also ruffled organizers of the local pride week who will no longer see their flag at city hall. “My first reaction to it is disappointment,” said Wilbur Turner, co-chair of Okanagan Pride. “At the same point I empathize with the councillors, because I believe they were kind of put in a tough position.”[/quote] [url=http://news.nationalpost.com/2012/08/21/kelowna-abolishes-courtesy-flag-program-after-right-to-life-tries-to-fly-banner/]**SOURCE**[/url]

Mercy kill on the flagpole; It's better to just end the torment of controversial pain

At least the council did the logical thing to just cut the controversy entirely. Also, Kelowna is my birth town! :D

It's a bit naive of them not to know this would happen. What's the purpose of a flag if not to promote your 'side' of a cause? Any time you let the public display something someone is going to want to push the boundaries and display something inappropriate.

way to piss off a lot of people

Of course someone had to ruin it for everyone right off the start.

I have no love for anti-abortion groups but letting groups they like use the flagpole then scrapping it when a group they disagree with wants to use it is pretty shitty.

[QUOTE=Mr. Someguy;37370202]Of course someone had to ruin it for everyone right off the start.[/QUOTE] Actually it says they've been doing this since last summer. It's only become a problem after a year. I bet what happened is some anti-abortion person noticed the gay pride flag, asked about it, then when he or she found out you can put your cause's flag up there they got the idea to do an anti-abortion one.

I think a gay pride flag is a little different from a anti-abortion flag. One gives support to a minority who is still not considered worthy of human rights by many people. The other one wants to discourage women from having rights over their own uterus.

[QUOTE=Lambeth;37372090]I think a gay pride flag is a little different from a anti-abortion flag. One gives support to a minority who is still not considered worthy of human rights by many people. The other one wants to discourage women from having rights over their own uterus.[/QUOTE] And both are equally in their rights to speak their mind. I just find it a little too convenient that they ditch the flag idea when an anti-abortion group wants to put their flag up.