The Little Compton Town Council last week approved a policy allowing only the American flag to be flown at town hall, settling for now a controversial issue that elicits strong reactions from community members each time it comes up for debate.

Two days after the June 6 vote, the fourth annual Love Wins Coastal Little Compton Pride Celebration, which was the catalyst for the new policy, was held outside the Wilbur & McMahon School.

In the weeks prior to the event, representatives of Love Wins Coastal, an organization that supports LGBTQ+ individuals, asked the council to approve its request to display a “Love is Love” sign at Town Hall on the day of the event. Members also wanted councilors to adopt a resolution supporting Love Wins’ mission and encouraging community members to display the organization’s colorful signs in their yards throughout the month of June.

The request differed slightly from prior years, when organizers sought approval to fly the Pride flag at Town Hall. Although this year’s debate centered around a sign rather than a flag, opponents of the measure felt there was essentially no difference, and they urged the council to deny the request.

While the new policy allows only the American flag to be flown at Town Hall, it does permit temporary displays of flags, signs and banners on other town-owned properties in connection with events that have been sanctioned in advance by the town council.

For more than an hour prior to last week’s vote, councilors heard from close to two dozen speakers who either embraced the proposed policy or were strongly opposed to it.

Megan Gonzalez, co-president of Love Wins Coastal, said that for at least two decades, the council allowed the Armenian flag to fly at Town Hall one day each year, in remembrance of the Armenian Genocide. It was not until councilors received a request to fly the Pride flag, she said, that they began discussing the need for a flag policy.

Gonzalez also pointed to significant community support for the resolution relating to the “Love is Love” initiative.

“We’ve had over 130 Little Compton residents fully support the resolution as proposed, on top of others that have e-mailed in.”

Gonzalez asked that the proposed policy be revised in such a way that if the town council approved an event such as the Pride celebration, then the Pride flag could fly at Town Hall. Not to do so amounts to bigotry, she said.

Those on the other side of the debate, such as Republican Town Committee vice chairman Sal Marinosci, described himself as a patriot whose family members defended the American flag in times of war.

“I approve of everybody. I love everyone. I don’t want to exclude anything in this town. But I don’t want to include anything on that mast except the American flag.”

Councilor Paul Golembeske emphasized that the new policy impacts only Town Hall and would not prohibit Pride flags or signs on other town property.

The vote to approve the policy was 3-2, with Republicans Bob Mushen, Gary Mataronas, and Paul Golembeske in favor and Democrats Andrew Iriarte-Moore and Patrick McHugh opposed.

Earlier in the meeting, Iriarte-Moore expressed concern that the debate seemed to strictly focus on ensuring the Pride flag was not displayed at Town Hall. He noted, as did others at the meeting, that no such restrictions were considered when the Armenian Flag was flown for many years.

“To me, it’s not only about flying the US flag on Town Hall. This whole debate is about the Pride flag. The fact that [restrictions] didn’t come up before then I think says a lot about some of the values in this community.”

McHugh said while he supported the policy in general, his opposition vote was his way of protesting the limitations on what flags could be flown at Town Hall.

“It was obvious to me my three colleagues were going to vote in favor of the [policy’s] rules and regulations. I felt taking out the town hall [reference] from the document would have been something I could vote in favor of.”

Town’s resolution

Responding to the request from Love Wins Coastal that the council approve a resolution supporting its “Love is Love” initiative, the council voted unanimously in favor of the resolution. It was, however, a modified version of one that had been considered previously and it omitted a reference to displaying the “Love is Love” sign at Town Hall.

It reads:

“Whereas, the Town of Little Compton is a community that values diversity, acceptance, and inclusivity for all individuals, and

Whereas, Love Wins Coastal has requested that its “Love is Love Initiative” be considered an expression of those values, and

Whereas, among the goals of the “Love is Love Initiative” are the promotion of love, acceptance, and support for the LGBTQ+ community through various events and activities.

Now, therefore, be it resolved, that the Little Compton Town Council pledges its support for promoting acceptance and inclusivity for all individuals.”