It’s been a while since the City of Arcata has taken its once-customary guff for poking its nose into national and international affairs, but on the eve of the first Supreme Court hearing on Prop. 8 this move seems to strike the perfect tone — quiet, understated, cheap and correct.

Good on you, Arcata.

Press release below:

Arcata to fly the rainbow flag on the Arcata Plaza on Tuesday and Wednesday, March 26 and 27

Arcata, CA – The City of Arcata will fly the rainbow flag on the Arcata Plaza on Tuesday and Wednesday, March 26 and 27, 2013. The rainbow flag has a history of use in many cultures as a symbol of diversity and inclusiveness. Since the 1970s the flag has been used as a symbol of gay pride and lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) rights.

The LGBT flag will fly on Tuesday and Wednesday while the United States Supreme Court hears Hollingsworth v. Perry, a case challenging the constitutionality of California’s Proposition 8, and USA v. Windsor, which challenges the constitutionality of the Defense of Marriage Act.

Arcata Mayor Shane Brinton requested the City fly the flag and sign a statement by California Mayors United Against Proposition 8 at this Wednesday’s City Council meeting.

“I am joining other forward-thinking California mayors in calling for an end to the separate and unequal status imposed on same-sex couples by Proposition 8,” said Brinton. “It makes me proud that my colleagues on the City Council voted unanimously to support this position by flying the LGBT pride flag. This is a symbol of our community’s solidarity in the struggle for equal rights.”