MILWAUKEE (WSVN) — A couple is going viral for thinking outside the box when their homeowner’s association made them take down their Pride flag.
Memo Fachino and his husband, Lance Mier, told WISN that they put up their Pride flag back in March, but recently, someone reported it to the HOA.
The rules in the neighborhood recently changed, and now, the only flag allowed to be flown is the American flag.
“The political environment was a little bit more charged and there were some flags that were being flown that were opposite in terms of neighbors,” Fachino told the station. “There were some discussions on frictions between them.”
Fachino said while he did not agree with the flag rule, he understood why it was instituted, and he took down the Pride flag.
However, the couple came up with a creative way to show their pride, and used rainbow flood lights to light up their house with Pride colors.
“If we can’t fly the flag, we’ll find a different way to still show that representation, and we just happened to do it through our floodlights,” Mier told WISN.
“We always said we believe in diversity and representation, so we wanted to follow that same sentiment while being within the rules and being respectful of our guidelines,” Fachino said.
Fachino posted a photo of his home to Reddit, and the post has since gone viral.
“Representation matters and diversity matters, and if you can, find a way to make that work in a way that’s not aggressive and not imposed on anyone,” Fachino said. “Our lights don’t hit anyone’s home, they’re not loud, they’re only up three hours a day. It’s not a crazy busy intersection where everyone is forced to see them. We like it as a pretty, light approach.”
The couple said they plan to keep the lights up through Pride month.
Copyright 2024 Sunbeam Television Corp. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.