Whether you’re a supporter of the DOMA ruling or not, we’re not here to badger you on your beliefs. But we are here to smack down some rumors.
Photo originally by Amy Lloyd
This photo has been circulating social media sites with claims that this U.S. Air Force held a flyover in support of the June 26 DOMA ruling; they used colored smoke trails behind the aircraft to reflect the rainbow of colors that became the standard symbol of the gay community in the 1970s.
So did this happen? True or False?
FALSE.
According to snopes.com, the image has nothing to do with the DOMA ruling. The source of the original photo appears to be of the Royal International Air Tattoo air show in Fairford, Gloucestershire, UK which took place on July 17, 2010.
The photographer, Amy Lloyd, also confirmed our suspicions.
“I was over the moon to hear about the ruling in the U.S.,” she said in an email to Air Force Times.
“I have many friends it will affect, but it is weird to think that a photo with no relation to the matter can then become a major part of that, celebration, so to speak. It’s a photo I am very proud of and it’s a shame it has lost its original meaning and connotations. I am lucky I had not sold it to anyone — as I imagine, that would not make such people happy knowing it’s now everywhere for free. I had licensed it on Flickr using creative commons but I suppose that wasn’t enough!”
C’mon guys, you know it’s sequestration. You know there’s no money for colors.
