Making history in Cincinnati. Mayor John Cranley says 20 years ago this would have been unheard of, the city of Cincinnati raising a rainbow colored flag over city hall in advance of Saturdays pride parade and festival.
The Mayor calls the flag a symbol of how welcoming this community is to all people. At the flag raising ceremony, Mayor Cranley said there is a lot of pain in the world and "life is too short to keep people from loving each other." The first openly gay man elected to council, Chris Seelbach presided over the ceremony and said there is still a great deal of work to be done to achieve equal rights. Seelbach said "Today, we are going to make history. This weekend we are going to celebrate pride and how far we have come, then on Monday morning we will go back to work fighting to make our country one where everyone is valued and treated equally under the law."
Hamilton County has joined Cincinnati in flying the rainbow flag at its buildings. Commission President Denise Driehaus says visitors will know when they look up that they are in a community that celebrates inclusiveness and diversity.