Trans flag stolen in Burnaby, 2SLGBTQ+ activist says
Posted April 20, 2023 5:07 pm.
Last Updated April 20, 2023 6:31 pm.
A trans Pride flag has been stolen from a home in Burnaby, and now, the owner is asking for your help to get it back.
Leada Stray, a long-time 2SLGBTQ+ advocate and activist, claims the flag is an important piece of trans history.
He says he first purchased the flag from Little Sister’s Book & Art Emporium in Vancouver over 20 years ago.
Stray, who has not reported the theft to the Burnaby RCMP, hopes whoever is responsible will return the stolen item.
“I don’t involve police as a policy, so I’m hoping that this news story and this story getting out will reach the person who took it and inform them of what they could not have know, which is the historic value of the flag,” he told CityNews Thursday.
Stray believes the flag was taken from his front window earlier this week. He says he heard a strange sound outside his Capitol Hill area home Wednesday afternoon.
“I went to look and I found that the front window in my dining room had been forced open. It had been locked, there was a bar in it so they were only able to get [it] open a couple of inches. But somebody, while I was out, had forced the window and pulled through the Trans Pride flag that was hanging there,” Stray said.
Leada Stray holds up his trans Pride flag, which he says was stolen from his Burnaby home. (Submitted)
“What they could not have known is that that particular flag was one of the first transgender Pride flags sold in the city,” he explained.
He wants whoever is responsible to understand the significance of this theft.
“There’s so much misinformation. Transgender people are simply people and, unknowingly, you have caused great injury. It’s not too late to fix it — you can always email and let us know what happened to it,” Stray said.
Stray says the flag was also signed by Monica Helms, a prominent U.S. activist who created the transgender flag.
FILE – Leada Stray and Monica Helms. (Submitted)
While Stray has not reported the incident to police, the Burnaby RCMP is encouraging them to get in touch. Mounties tell CityNews they have opened a file based on the information shared on social media.
“There are a lot of police officers in this detachment that hold that flag dear and they don’t just have to be in that community,” Corp. Mike Kalanj said Thursday. “We understand the significance here and there are a lot of police officers that would like to assist in this.”
Meanwhile, Leada is asking anyone who sees the flag or has information about it to email transprideflagrecovery@gmail.com.
