Caller-Times File Harbor Bridge

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By Kirsten Crow of the Caller-Times

A social media firestorm set ablaze over how to best honor the victims of the mass shooting in Orlando, Florida, now means two color schemes will illuminate the Harbor Bridge.

Rainbow hues are planned for this weekend, a move that recognizes those killed in Pulse, a popular gay nightclub, were targeted because of their sexual orientation, proponents said.

Another color scheme will appear Monday, and continue through June 24: red, white and blue. The U.S. flag theme is inclusive by acknowledging those killed were Americans, not all of whom identify as LGBT, supporters say.

The symbolism of the colors touched off passionate debate within community Tuesday, after several pastors came to the City Council meeting for public comment and objected to the rainbow theme. The pastors' concerns included their perception that a violent act was being used to push a political agenda and the possibility that the colors would imply a citywide statement that did not mirror all residents' feelings.

The brief comments during the council meeting, both in support and opposition, led to lengthy threads and sometimes volatile discourse on social media between residents.

The City Council doesn't approve lighting for the Harbor Bridge, and did not play a role as a governing body in either color scheme initiative.

However, both lighting schemes are being funded by council members, who are acting as individuals in their capacity as private citizens and not as city or City Council representatives.

A social media campaign launched by LGBT activist Korbin Boomer Matthews appealed to Mayor Nelda Martinez to help light the bridge through a Facebook post that was shared more than 1,400 times. City Councilwoman Colleen McIntyre was tagged in it, as well.

Both decided to underwrite the rainbow lights slated to glow from Friday night through Sunday. They are splitting the $400 cost out of their own money to finance it.

"The city with a capital 'c' isn't doing it," McIntyre said. "There are individuals choosing to do this with their money and their time."

It has to do with freedom of speech, she added.

Sponsoring the rainbow scheme in this incident would be similar to sponsoring a burnt orange color scheme if a similar act were to occur on the University of Texas campus, McIntyre said.

It can't be ignored that the LGBT community was targeted in the attack, Martinez said. She said doing so would be "a denial of the reality of what occurred."

"It was a hate crime," Martinez said. "It's important to show unified support."

Matthews, the activist, said rainbow lights on the bridge are about more than honoring the victims of the attack.

"It sheds light on the struggle of the LGBT community throughout the world," he said.

Anyone can apply for a special request for lighting, city officials said. An example of special request lighting would include color schemes for Pops in the Park, said Terry Orf, the designer of the Harbor Bridge lights and a third-party contractor who programs the lights.

Martinez said she and McIntyre went through the same process anyone would go through for a request.

In response to comments made by the pastors at the meeting, City Councilwoman Carolyn Vaughn, also acting in her capacity as a private citizen and using her own money, applied to sponsor a red, white and blue color scheme slated to run Monday through the end of the week.

Martinez and McIntyre expressed support of the move late Wednesday.

Comments by the Christian leaders moved her, Vaughn said.

Leading means inclusiveness, not division, to support the Americans killed in the Orlando shootings, Vaughn added. Everyone suffered and is grieved by what happened, she said. The red, white and blue colors represents all, while the rainbow scheme makes it a political issue, she said.

"Americans were killed," she said. "That's the common thread."

Twitter: @CallerCrow