Inverclyde flies the rainbow flag

The Council has flown the rainbow flag at half mast to honour the dead from the events in Orlando.

Below is Provost Robert Moran's column which was published on 18 May in the Greenock Telegraph when the council last flew the rainbow flag to mark international day against homophombia, transphobia and biphobia:

This week a flag was flown above the Municipal Buildings in Greenock.

It’s not a big flag, but it is bright.

It was the rainbow flag and has become the international symbol against homophobia, transphobia and biphobia.

This week marks the 11th International Day against homophobia, transphobia and biphobia.

It is also 27 years since homosexuality was removed from the World Health Organisation’s international classification of diseases.

In recent decades our country has made significant progress towards a more inclusive society.

In 2015 ILGA-Europe rated Scotland the best in Europe for LGBT equality.

Though we should be proud of our achievements in legal equality, there still remain significant challenges to ensuring social inclusiveness.

The Equality Network’s 2015 investigation into the experiences of prejudice and discrimination for LGBT people in Scotland found that almost half of LGBT (49%) respondents had experienced an incident of anti-LGBT discrimination in the last month, rising to 79% in the last year.

On the 7th of April a motion was submitted by Councillor McCabe to the Council meeting to provide £500 of funding to a local LGBT youth group to assist them in providing a safe and supportive space for young LGBT people.

While most of us may not see it, homophobia, transphobia and biphobia is a feature of the lives of many young people in our community.

It is important that we show our support and that is why we fly the rainbow flag above the Municipal Buildings.

It is a public symbol that the wider Inverclyde community is there for you.

If you are a young LGBT person aged 18+ in Inverclyde and wish to attend Inverclyde’s LGBT Youth Group, please contact: CLD.admin@inverclyde.gov.uk for more information.