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Pride Flag Raised, Then Lowered To Half-Staff At Washington Capitol

Members of Olympia's LGBT community hold up letters spelling ORLANDO at a flag raising event at the Washington state Capitol.
Austin Jenkins
/
Northwest News Network
Members of Olympia's LGBT community hold up letters spelling ORLANDO at a flag raising event at the Washington state Capitol.

The rainbow pride flag was raised over the Washington state Capitol Wednesday. It was then immediately lowered to half-staff in honor of the victims of last weekend’s mass shooting in Orlando.

Members of Olympia’s LGBT community, state employees and many others gathered on the steps of the state Capitol. At the base of the steps a small group held up rainbow painted wooden letters that read: ORLANDO.

“Normally we use our letters to spell out OLYPRIDE, as you can see from our banner, but we felt that we wanted to send a message of solidarity to Orlando,” Capital City Pride President Anna Schlecht said.

https://youtu.be/Uv-ABwjuGO4

Schlecht said this year’s gathering, which starts Friday, will be different.

“I think that we’re going to have people who are sobbing, crying, people who are laughing and dancing and everything in between,” she said.

Gov. Jay Inslee led the flag-raising ceremony.

“We’re raising the pride flag in the state of Washington both out of conviction and compassion,” he said.

Copyright 2016 Northwest News Network

Since January 2004, Austin Jenkins has been the Olympia-based political reporter for the Northwest News Network. In that position, Austin covers Northwest politics and public policy as well as the Washington State legislature. You can also see Austin on television as host of TVW's (the C–SPAN of Washington State) Emmy-nominated public affairs program "Inside Olympia." Prior to joining the Northwest News Network, Austin worked as a television reporter in Seattle, Portland and Boise. Austin is a graduate of Garfield High School in Seattle and Connecticut College in New London, Connecticut. Austin’s reporting has been recognized with awards from the Association of Capitol Reporters and Editors, Public Radio News Directors Incorporated and the Society of Professional Journalists.
Austin Jenkins
Since January 2004, Austin Jenkins has been the Olympia-based political reporter for the Northwest News Network. In that position, Austin covers Northwest politics and public policy, as well as the Washington State Legislature. You can also see Austin on television as host of TVW's (the C–SPAN of Washington State) Emmy-nominated public affairs program "Inside Olympia."