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About that rainbow letter: we didn’t get it right

We apologize to those who were offended by our decision; causing pain was not our aim.
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We don’t always get it right.

The Citizen ran a letter last week by someone who objected to rainbow crosswalks for religious reasons.

We’ve gotten a huge response, but not the one we expected or wanted.

We ran the letter hoping that it would inspire dialogue on the very important topic of LGBTQ+ rights. To us, the letter illustrated how, in spite of the fact it’s 2017, there is still a struggle for LGBTQ+ individuals to find acceptance and support in all corners of our community. Some still find fault with the beautiful rainbow.

But you’ve let us know that we went too far. We apologize to those who were offended by our decision; causing pain was not our aim.

We thank everyone who responded by phone, email or online to let us know how they felt about our choice and about the letter. Take a look at our letters section for a selection of those responses.

We didn’t get it right this time. So how do we go forward?

We would like all of our readers to know that we will endeavour to do better in the future, and are working to put a system of checks and balances in place so that reading the Citizen is not an experience that alienates those in our community, but rather makes us feel closer to one another, or at least helps us to understand one another better.

In that vein, we will continue to cover this important subject so that every one of our readers has a better understanding of this important issue. And we hope to soon see a rainbow crosswalk bloom in Duncan.