Colorado hospital employee resigns after being told to delete gay flag screen saver
For Michelle Hurn, the screen saver on her office computer at Boulder Community Health’s Foothills Hospital has always been a reflection of her life. Photos of her running, her pets, her wife. So after the 2016 election, Hurn put up a photo of the gay pride flag waving in the wind as her new screen saver.
“For me, it was empowering,” said Hurn, who said she first came out as lesbian about nine years ago at the age of 24. “I don’t do things in life to say, ‘Show the haters.’ For me, it was honoring who I am. I’m proud, and I’m not going to pretend I’m not something.”
It was never intended to be a public display of defiance. But then, Hurn said she was told to take the image off her computer. For Hurn, that was not something she could stand for, and she resigned.
Michelle Hurn, an employee of Boulder Community Health’s Foothills Hospital, pictured in the background, has resigned after she said she was ordered to take down the gay pride flag image she was using as her screen saver. (Cliff Grassmick / Staff Photographer)
Michelle Hurn, an employee of Boulder Community Health’s Foothills Hospital, pictured in the background, has resigned after she said she was ordered to take down the gay pride flag image she was using as her screen saver. (Cliff Grassmick / Staff Photographer)