For immediate release: Wednesday, April 2, 2025
For more information: Derrick Jones, director@pridelafayette.org
LAFAYETTE, Ind. – In a letter today, the oldest LGBTQ+ community center in the state of Indiana today called on Indiana Attorney General Todd Rokita to apologize for a social media post mocking the LGBTQ+ community. The post, which appeared on Facebook, featured a photo of the Progress Pride Flag superimposed over the “Come and Take It Flag” outside the Attorney General’s capitol office, and was captioned “The Left wins… They have finally brainwashed me. I am taking down our “Come And Take It” flag and replacing it with this one. April Fools!”
The post was shared via the Attorney General’s official state Facebook page, not a campaign or personal page or account.
“Attorney General Rokita owes an apology to the tens of thousands of LGBTQ+ Hoosiers who call Indiana home,” said Derrick Jones, executive director of Pride Lafayette. “The Pride Flag is not a punchline or a joke. It is a symbol of hope, a symbol of equality, and a symbol of remembrance for those who have died from the AIDS epidemic. For the state’s chief law enforcement officer to use an official communications channel to mock the Pride Flag and the LGBTQ+ community is as disgraceful as it is insulting. Whether he likes it or not, LGBTQ+ Hoosiers live here, pay taxes here, raise families here, and are entitled to the same rights and representation as other Hoosiers.”
The letter also pointed to the mental health crises among LGBTQ+ youth in the state, noting:
According to the Indiana Family and Social Services Administration, “In the past year, 5% of Hoosier adults and 11.1% of young adults (18-25) experienced suicidal thoughts. Almost 10% of Indiana high school students, and 35% of those identifying as gay, lesbian or bisexual, attempted suicide in the past year.” What message does it send to those LGBTQ+ young people when the state’s chief law enforcement officer shares a public message belittling their symbol of hope and mocking their very existence? To those young people, that flag – for some, their only symbol of hope – is no laughing matter.
Created in the late 1970s by a collective of artists led by Gilbert Baker, the Rainbow Flag is a symbol of LGBTQ+ pride and a representation of the LGBTQ+ social movements. The colors reflect the diversity of the LGBTQ+ community and the spectrum of human sexuality and gender. The “Progress Pride Flag” seen in the Attorney General’s post was created by Daniel Quasar in 2018 to bring marginalized people of color, trans people, and those living with HIV/AIDS and those who have been lost to the forefront.
“The Attorney General works for all Hoosiers – even those with whom he disagrees politically,” said Jones. “Using official channels to mock constituents is unbecoming and beneath the office of Attorney General. Do better, Mr. Attorney General.”
About Pride Lafayette
Founded in 2003, Pride Lafayette works to continually educate and promote awareness of diversity, health, culture, and acceptance of individuals based on sexual orientation and gender identity. Together, members of the LGBTQ+ community work to reach the same goal of nondiscrimination by education. Pride Lafayette, Inc. facilitates and coordinates the efforts to work together on a variety of programs and activities such as diversity education, health initiatives, community mobilization, cultural enhancement, and research.
Located on Main Street in downtown Lafayette, Pride Lafayette operates the oldest LGBTQ+ Community Center in the state of Indiana, which serves as the hub for its outreach and educational programming.