Grand old flag

Buried at the end of today's New York Times article on the overturned sodomy law is a poignant moment. The article describes some gay pride celebrations that took place in cities across the country. The following scene occurred in Castro, San Francisco's famous gay district:

As word of the ruling spread in San Francisco, a group gathered at the corner of Castro and Market Streets, where a rainbow flag — a symbol of the gay movement for the last 25 years — had regularly flown.

A small chorus of gay military veterans sang the national anthem as the rainbow flag was gently lowered, replaced with an American one.

Now, it takes something and I mean something to bring down the gay pride flag in Castro. Something big. Something like gay men and women finally feeling like Americans, instead of marginalized criminals. A big victory for the America of equality and justice, and a big defeat for the America of bigotry and fear. Hear hear.