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Not flying flag is right decision

eQ Alliance has decided not to request that its gay rights flag be flown during National Coming Out Day next Tuesday. Members of the campus gay rights organization decided it would cause too much of an outcry.

University policy does not allow any campus organization to fly its flag next to the TCU, Texas and U.S. flags, so eQ’s request probably would have been turned down anyway. But eQ made the right decision.

Some people on campus would argue that whether people have particular legal or political rights by virtue of being gay has not yet been settled in this country. Opposition toward homosexuality still runs high.

National Coming Out Day began in 1987 to create an atmosphere where gays, lesbians, bi-sexuals and transgenders could openly admit what they were without feeling stigmatized or persecuted. The day was launched by the Human Rights Campaign and serves as a springboard for out-in-the-open homosexuals to lobby for the legal right to adopt, marry and claim benefits for domestic partners.

Right or wrong, that runs counter to the beliefs of many on this campus. Perhaps such people should re-examine their beliefs. Nonetheless, flying the flag would not have caused that — and probably would have been counterproductive.

There is deep sense of patriotism attached to the U.S. flag. If the red, white and blue were to fly next to a flag symbolizing a lifestyle many students vehemently disagree with, the backlash would be immense. The uproar over the flag would have drowned out the eQ Alliance’s message of acceptance.

This is unfortunate, but it is the sad truth.