Woman killed in Pride flag dispute was “fighter for equal rights” – NBC Los Angeles

It has been nearly ten months since a 27-year-old man shot and killed a shop owner near Lake Arrowhead because of the Pride flag in front of her clothing boutique.

Now, at the start of Pride Month, Lauri Carleton’s daughters share more about their mother and her inclusive heart.

Kelsey and Ari Carleton said their mother supported the gay community throughout her life, was an ally and was married to her husband, Bort, for 38 years.

“She was just a champion of equality, and that was all she ever fought for and all she wanted,” Kelsey Carleton said. “She didn’t want anyone to feel left out.”

Ari said she learned a lot from her mother.

“She taught me to be independent and strong,” she said. “But she also taught me to stand up for myself and for others.”

As a fashion designer, Carleton has worked with some big names like Fred Segel and Kenneth Cole. In 2013, she opened her first boutique in Studio City called MagPi. In 2021, she opened her second near Lake Arrowhead, where she lived off and on for 20 years.

“She said being on her boat on the lake was her church,” Kelsey said. “Lake Arrowhead has always been her happy place.”

When she opened the boutique near the water, she raised the Pride flag on the first day.

“She was so interested in supporting this community because it was her community. These were people that she loved and cared about, that we love and care about,” Ari said. “She was an advocate for everyone, she was a community builder. It was just that everyone is welcome here, and by ‘everyone’ I mean everyone.”

Although she always supported the LGBTQ+ community, she was often confronted with people who did not like her flag.

“The flags had been tampered with before, she had been harassed, she kept putting them up,” Ari said. “Because for her, the reason for her actions was bigger and more important than the people’s resistance.”

Unfortunately, the dispute escalated into violence on August 18, when the 27-year-old man showed up at her boutique in Lake Arrowhead and shot Lauri after making homophobic comments and tearing down her Pride flag. Police later killed the shooter.

Carleton’s death shocked the small LGBTQ+ community at Lake Arrowhead.

A dispute over an LGBTQ+ pride flag outside a California clothing store escalated into deadly violence this weekend when a man shot the 66-year-old business owner just outside her store, authorities said.

“It was kind of numb, it was hard to comprehend it all,” said Andrew Ferrera. “For this to happen in such a small and close-knit community like this, it hit us much harder.”

“It’s really hard to have a day where you don’t think about her,” said Matthew Clevenger. “She was the lioness for us up here, she was our protector. People couldn’t say anything bad about us or she would have come after them.”

“Sometimes I think allies don’t get enough credit for being able to speak when we can’t,” said Bev Eskew. “She was just a passionate advocate. She spoke truth to power. She wasn’t afraid to speak her mind. And do what she thought was right.”

And that’s why this year, when they celebrate Lake Arrowhead Pride at the end of June, they’re also celebrating Lauri.

“What we’re doing this year is we’re having our first event on the beach at the resort here in Lake Arrowhead. It’s going to be a champagne toast, it’s going to be the first annual Lauri Carleton Memorial Beach Bash,” Clevenger said. “We thought an event would be a really nice thing to do, and that evolved into why don’t we do this as an annual event, and why don’t we do this as the very first event every year.”

“She stood for light and love and that will never be forgotten,” Eskew said.

When you return to Lauri’s boutique today, you’ll find that there are new bosses in charge – Kelsey and Ari.

“As we’ve learned, owning a retail business is no easy feat, and she really made it look easy,” Ari said. “How could you not continue something she worked so hard for?”

And if you park in front of the store, you’ll notice something else – the Pride flag is hanging there again, too.

“We obviously stand behind our mother, we agree with everything she stood for,” Kelsey said. “We continue to fly those flags because we strongly believe in them too.”

“She had no intention of giving in and neither will we. That’s the reality and that’s what people need to know,” Ari said.

Lauri’s family and friends are working to continue her vision of a more inclusive world by establishing the Lauri Carleton Memorial Fund. The fund’s money will benefit local inclusive initiatives in the Lake Arrowhead area. For more information, click here.

To reach a wider audience, the family is asking people to donate to the human rights campaign.

The daughters share updates on the boutique’s Instagram page.