Iceland Church Restores 16 Pride Steps After Defacement With National Flag

1 articles · Updated · The Guardian · Aug 19

Grafarvogur Lutheran church in Reykjavik repainted its 16 Progress Pride steps after someone covered them overnight on July 7-8 with the blue, white and red of the Icelandic flag.
Pastor Arna Sigurðardóttir said the vandalism felt more systematic than two earlier 2022 attacks and reflected a wider backlash in which human-rights opposition is being wrapped in national symbols.
Lawmakers and residents told the Guardian the Icelandic flag, long a largely unifying emblem in a country of barely 400,000, has recently appeared at anti-immigration and anti-LGBTQ+ protests.
Parliament already loosened flag-display rules in May to keep the symbol from being monopolized by the far right, while the church plans autumn talks aimed at people still undecided over the dispute.