Copenhagen mayor to California's 'Danish Capital': Stop acting homophobic
SOLVANG, Calif. — This little tourist town in the Santa Ynez Valley is best known for its Danish windmills, aebleskivers and Viking-themed tchotchkes.
In the self-described Danish Capital of America, friendliness is part of the brand, with Solvang so outwardly idyllic it was the setting for the saccharine Lifetime TV movie "A Very Charming Christmas Town."
As one city councilman declared: "This is the friendliest goddamn town I've ever been in."
But lately — if you're queer — something smells rotten in this wannabe outpost of Denmark.
For the last several months, the townsfolk of rural Solvang, population 6,000, have been waging an ugly battle over just how visible its LGBTQ+ community should be.
The City Council shot down a proposal to hang pride-themed banners downtown — and both critics and supporters now say they've received death threats.
The husbands who proposed the banners were harassed online, called groomers and pedophiles. People posted the names and photos of their four young children.
This spring, prosecutors against two young men for stealing a pride flag from a church a few miles outside town and burning it. Then high schoolers after school administrators ordered rainbow-colored crosswalks
