Straight Store Owner Murdered in CA for Having Pride Flag In Window

The threat to the LGBTQ+ community has reached such heights recently, that now even our straight allies have cause to be concerned for their safety. This fear was sadly very relevant last week when 66-year-old Laura Ann Carleton was shot outside the store she owns, Mag.Pi.

The event took place on Friday, August 18th around 5 PM. Carleton was at her store when police say 27-year-old Travis Ikeguchi approached her and started hurling homophobic slurs at Carleton, before shooting her multiple times and killing her. He fled the scene and was later apprehended by the police about a mile away. In a statement released by the San Bernardino Police Department, the cops at the scene said that he began to fire a handgun at them when confronted, at which point a shootout ensued and the police killed Ikeguchi. Though it's still not clear if they'll be pursuing the murder as a hate crime, the police did note that Ikeguchi "yelled many homophobic slurs toward Carleton."

 

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Carleton was married to husband Bort and had nine children. Her daughter Ari Carleton (28), said her mother was a "fearless" advocate for the LGBTQ+ community and that the rights of Queer people was an issue that was close to her heart. The confrontation that led to her murder was not the first time someone took issue with her displaying the Pride flag outside Mag.Pi. On numerous occasions over the last two years, ignorant pieces of human detritus ripped Carleton's flag down, and every time she would put up a new one that would reportedly be even bigger than the last.

From all accounts, Carleton was beloved by everyone who knew her. Hollywood director Paul Feig, who directed such movies as Bridesmaids, Spy, and Ghostbusters was a good friend of Carleton's. Whenever he and his family would go to Lake Arrowhead, they would hang out and get dinner together. "She was just a force of nature," Feig said. "She just really cared about people." And Lake Arrowhead LGBTQ+, a community group in the area, not only lists Mag.Pi as a business that was a specific LGBTQ+ ally, but they also shared their condolences to their social media pages. "Lauri did not identify as LGBTQ+, but spent her time helping & advocating for everyone in the community," the group wrote. "She will be truly missed."

 

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Attacks on our community are reaching an all-time high and have seen a major spike recently, but we have to keep staying strong, and showing our solidarity as a community and as a Queer family. And make no mistake about it: allies like Laura Ann Carleton are members of our family, too. Our hearts break for everyone who knew her, but most especially her husband and children that she leaves behind. RIP Lauri.

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