Of course, Ken Ham has to turn this bit of seasonal decorating into a slam on the LGBT communities. From his blog:
Taking the Rainbow Back!
In recent times the rainbow (albeit with some different colors) has come to represent something far different. To many people it means freedom, love, pride, a new era, and, specifically, the LGBTQ movement. Indeed when the US Supreme Court legalized gay “marriage” last year, the White House was lit up in rainbow colors and released a statement saying,
Tonight, the White House was lit to demonstrate our unwavering commitment to progress and equality, here in America and around the world. . . . The pride colors reflect the diversity of the LGBT community, and tonight, these colors celebrate a new chapter in the history of American civil rights.
But the rainbow itself wasn’t designed to be a symbol of freedom, love, pride, or the LGBTQ movement. God created this beautiful, colorful phenomenon and designated it as a sign of His covenant with Noah and his descendants forever.
Sadly, people ignore what God intended the rainbow to represent and proudly wave rainbow-colored flags in defiance of God’s command and design for marriage. Because of this, many Christians shy away from using the rainbow colors. But the rainbow was a symbol of God’s promises before the LGBTQ movement—and will continue to be after that movement has ended. As Christians, we need to take the rainbow back and teach our young people its true meaning.Which is silly. Nobody owns the rainbow. The rainbow is colored light. It's not something that you can touch or possess. It just exists.
That's what I wrote about the rainbow nearly six years ago in the blog spot: Who owns the Rainbow?
In that post, I talked about a woman who saw my rainbow fish bumper sticker and said she wished she could have a rainbow fish bumper sticker too, but she wouldn't get one because she didn't want people to mistake her for a lesbian. She was upset that gay people had stolen and ruined this previously untarnished Christian symbol (except for the times that it's used by Pagans or grieving pet owners).
Since then, a commenter expressed similar concerns in one of my blog articles and NOM ally, Dr. Jennifer Roback Morse of the Ruth Institute regularly wears a rainbow scarf if an effort to "get the rainbow back from gays."
And then there was the post back in May 2012 where ex-gay activist Janet Boynes began hawking her "TAK-N BACK THE RAINBOW" plastic wristbands.
There is no reason that the rainbow cannot share important symbolism for both Christians and LGBT people (or even Christian LGBT people!). Christians can believe that the rainbow is a symbol of God's promise to humanity that he won't bring back worldwide floods and LGBT people can use the rainbow to symbolize diversity and pride.
Here is my gay invitation to any and all Christians out there, gay-affirming or not: Wear your rainbow scarf along with your rainbow wristband. Get a rainbow fish bumper sticker and put it on your car. Put on your multi-colored plastic rainbow. rejoice in your ability to shine colored lights on your favorite religious-themed building. Proudly claim the rainbow as a symbol of your Christian faith and if someone asks you about it, use the opportunity to share your faith with others.
The rainbow is big enough for everyone to share. It's not just the Christians or the gays who see it off in the horizon after every rainstorm. The rainbow is for everyone.