Airdrie City Council did not accept a request from a group calling itself “It’s Great to be Straight” asking the city to fly a straight pride flag at City Hall.

The letter was submitted by Larry Boland and suggests straight people are an “oppressed majority”. The letter goes on to state “[Straight people] are the 95% of the population looking for equality with the LGBQT community.”

“We will fight for the right of straights everywhere to express pride in themselves without fear of judgment and hate. The day will come when straights will finally be included as equals among all the other orientations,” read the letter from Boland which he said was also sent to Alberta Premier Jason Kenney’s along with all other United Conservative Party MLAs.

The letter also suggests the straight community needs to be involved in decisions that involve members of the LGBTQ+ community.

“We need to be involved in decisions being made for the LGBQT when it affects or takes away or mandates things which are not part of the Straight Community lifestyle,” the letter included in the council agenda packet stated. “We encourage everyone to embrace our community's diverse history, culture and identity regardless of sexual orientation and allow equality among all groups.”

Councillor Al Jones said this letter is problematic for several reasons.

“The original request on face value was not unreasonable, they were looking for equal rights. But, when you got into the body of their request that’s when you discover that they don’t actually identify anything that they’re lacking in rights,” Jones explained. “It seems more about preventing certain rights of other groups.”