Controversy sparked in North Carolina this week as a photographer was made by government order to remove his innocuous photo of two men kissing at a Pride parade from a museum exhibit.The picture from photojournalist Grant Baldwin features now-husbands Justin Colasacco and Bren Hipp sharing a kiss after Colasacco had proposed at Charlotte Pride in 2019.Wholesome enough, right?
A post shared by Grant Baldwin (@cltphotojourno)Wrong!Baldwin was forced to take down his photograph by order of Gaston County Manager Kim Eagle, who cited “differing viewpoints in the community.”Related: Psychotic school board official has homophobic meltdown while resisting arrest and OMG you guysA further statement from a Gaston County spokesperson specified that “the museum is government-funded, and as such, it is important for the items it shares to be informational without championing political issues.”You know, the political issue of gay people doing gay things in a gay space.President of Charlotte Pride Clark Simon told local news, “It is a feeling of disappointment in the county in which I live to take a section of the population and deem them not appropriate to all of the people attending the museum.”A twist of the knife to it all is that the exhibit has been open since May, but for some reason, Eagle waited until the very middle of Pride month to order the photo pulled.Here are a few of the reactions online:Queer people existing isn’t political.