Flying Pride Flag all year long

From staff reports

Though Gay Pride month—commonly celebrated in June—is over, some businesses continue to fly their pride flag. They include Grocer’s Daughter Chocolate in Empire, who posted on social media on June 30, “We choose to fly the progress pride flag every day of the year” despite some angry backlash from customers who oppose the rainbow flag.

“We’ve had people come into the store loud and aggressive. And, to be honest, it’s been scary,” the company wrote. “We’ve had full staff discussions about what to do in these situations. We’re working on de-escalation plans to deal with aggressive and potentially violent guests. We’ve even talked about whether to take the flag down to protect our staff … And we’ve decided together to continue flying the flag. Every day of the year.⁠

“We do this because we want to make our shops welcoming, safe spaces. We do this because it represents a bigger goal of global humanity and compassion. We do this for our LGBTQ+ family near and far, for marginalized groups of all kinds, and to let people know that hate is not permitted in our spaces.”

Response to Grocer’s Daughter’s statement on social media (Facebook and Instagram) has been overwhelmingly (almost exclusively) supportive.