Jay Richards and his partner decorated their apartment for Pride Month hours before they received a message from the rental company telling them to take down their banner.
The couple lives in one of three apartments connected to Walker Memorial Baptist Church in Washington, DC. With WorldPride hosted in DC this year, Richards and his partners have decided to show off the spirit of the holiday by hanging a rainbow flag over the gate along with a sign that reads “Happy Pride.”
It didn’t take long for the two to receive a message from the rental company asking them to defeat the decorations. The EJF writes:Washington Blade“We ask that you remove decorations and items at 1pm on Tuesday, June 3, 2025. If items are still in place after this time, our team will remove them. This service may be subject to a fee.”
The company cited a clause in its lease prohibiting external decoration. They asked if the decoration could be maintained until June 9th, when WorldPride was over.
“We continue to pay attention to our responsibility to both the lease and our clients, but we believe this is a respectful and rational approach,” an EJF spokesman said. DC News Now. “EJF doesn’t remove the decorations themselves, but honors residents’ plans and honours them for their trust that they will chase them as promised.”
The couple thought it was the end. Custodians from the church entered the gate Tuesday night and cut down the banner while Richards looked through the window. The decoration of pride was left at their gateway, but the American flag they placed by the rainbow was not touched. They then received an email from the church.
“This is not about the subject. The mission of Walker Memorial Baptist Church is a prayer-like congregation, walking through the spirit and taking the soul to Christ,” the message states. “That’s our focus, we want unity rather than splitting through the lease requirement that there is no decoration outside of real estate or common areas.
Richards understands it’s technically against his lease, but he thought he had reached a compromise with his rental company. He now feels that the rules are enforced only by the church. LGBTQ+Pride.
“The email they sent to me said we can’t put decorations on any holiday,” Richards said. blade. “But I feel that if I had put something on for Christmas and the holidays, they wouldn’t have beaten it. But now they say they can’t put up the decorations.”
Source: Advocate.com – www.advocate.com
