A two-story gay pride flag was hung from Asheville City Hall Thursday in anticipation of a historic civil rights ruling. The city council apparently approved the display outside of a public meeting and the decision has drawn an open meetings complaint.
On Thursday, a two-story tall, rainbow colored gay pride flag was hung lfrom Asheville City Hall as a show of support in anticipation of a historic court ruling allowing gay marriage in North Carolina.
A Buncombe County Republican party leader told WLOS 13 that the decision to fly the flag was approved by city council in a phone conversation in an apparent violation of the N.C. Open Meetings Law.
Mayor Esther Manheimer told the Asheville Citizen-Times that the council unanimously approved the decision. Councilman Gordon Smith told the paper that the decision to fly the flag was “informal” and unanimous.
The open meetings law requires decisions by public bodies to be made in public with adequate notice and access for the public to observe the deliberations unless one of several specific exemptions apply.
Former City Councilman Carl Mumpower and former Buncombe GOP Pary Chair Chad Nesbitt issued a joint statement, via Mumpower’s Facebook page, condemning the council’s decision and its apparent violation of the open meetings law. Their statement included a photograph of City Hall with a Nazi flag in place of the gay pride flag. The statement is no longer publicly accessible on Facebook.