QUEEN CREEK, Ariz. — In their Queen Creek backyard, you can see Tim and Jared Deluca's Pride flag waving in the wind.
It's been up since December but the one you see now is far from the original.
“This is the original Pride flag that we put up,” Jared Deluca said while holding up their first Pride flag.
“They took a knife to it and slashed it,” he said.
It happened three weeks after they put it on display. Deluca claims someone went to their yard's back fence and cut the flag.
They got another one. Then after a few weeks, it was vandalized again.
Deluca took to TikTok showing some of what he and Tim have gone through over the past few months. He said people have yelled slurs at them, and neighbors have threatened them. In one video, he said someone threw over Bible scriptures into their backyard.
"Tim and I are literally going to get bible thumped," Deluca said in the video.
While all of this has been happening, Deluca said their homeowner's association became involved, fining them each month for displaying the flag which goes against community guidelines.
“We went through a months-long process of proposing an amendment to our design guidelines,” he said.
It was unsuccessful, not only making the Delucas feel unsafe in their own home but they felt the urge to just move somewhere else.
“It was like, throw the house on the market. We’re done,” he said,
12News reached out to the property manger for the Deluca's HOA but has not heard back at this time.
What helped keep the Delucas in Queen Creek was the support they received from several other neighbors who sent them cards and even new Pride Flags they could put on display.
“Because of all the wonderful people that we’ve become acquainted with and really close to it’s helped restore my hope,” Deluca said.
They also didn't want to give in to the fear created by the actions of a few in their area, installing an actual flagpole in their backyard that now carries an American flag and a Pride flag.
“I’m taking a stand for something I feel is important,” Deluca said.
The flag that will be flown every day Deluca said, no matter what.
“That flag outside is not up just for us. It’s up for the community,” he said.
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