Councillor sorry for offence over 'straight pride' support
A CONSERVATIVE district councillor has apologised for causing any offence by supporting a “straight pride” post on social media.
Cllr Janette Duke shared the controversial post on Facebook with the comment: “Let’s celebrate it!” just as plans take shape for the New Forest’s first gay pride event later this year.
The image, which Cllr Duke put up in December last year, has since been deleted from her profile after sparking strong criticism online.
The picture was of a mixed-sex couple on their wedding day, entitled “Straight Pride” with a slogan beneath: “It’s natural, it’s worked for thousands of year, and you can make babies.”
Cllr Duke, who represents Boldre and Sway on New Forest District Council, told the A&T she had gay friends and denied setting out to offend anyone.
But she admitted to “naivety” about the message and the potential for it to be perceived offensively as implying that being straight was more natural than being gay.
“I apologise if I caused offence to anybody. But people are people. Let them get on and live their lives,” she said.
“At the bottom [of the post] it says it’s okay to be straight. I thought ‘okay, that’s fine’. I thought,’ let’s celebrate it, and marriage and babies and whatever’.
“I have looked up this ‘straight pride’ subsequently and I can’t make head nor tail of what it is about.”
She took it down because of “harassment” she had faced online over it, adding: “If I had understood what it was about I would not have posted it.”
Asked if she would support the New Forest pride event, she declined to give it her backing, saying: “It’s not something I am interested in – but I would not go to the [Lymington] Ferrari day either because I am not interested in Ferraris.”
This week – as LGBT+ History Month kicks off in the UK – she came under renewed fire from Cllr Jack Davies, a Liberal Democrat member of NFDC.
He represents Pennington and is helping a group to organise the New Forest’s first gay pride event which they hope to hold in Lymington this summer.
Cllr Davies said: “I was shocked recently to see a Conservative councillor share a post on her Facebook profile which argued for a ‘straight pride’ event and called being heterosexual ‘normal’.
“She is wrong and demonstrated explicitly why we need a LGBT+ pride event in the New Forest.
“Pride is not just a celebration of identity, it’s a reminder of the struggle that is still ongoing for full equality.”
The New Forest Pride group is due to hold its first planning meeting at Brockenhurst village hall on Thursday 20th February, 6.30pm-8pm. It will be open to the public to offer ideas.
Cllr Davies said: “I’m really pleased that we have managed to get to this stage. It’s an important first step.”
To find out more, go to the New Forest LGBT Community Facebook page www.facebook.com/nflgbt/.
