LGBTQ+ rights roundup: June 16, 2023

This series is a weekly roundup of LGBTQ-related news, covering various laws and bans, as well as efforts to push back against them.

This week, municipalities are banning pride flags from public property, Starbucks is facing claims that it is banning employees from displaying pride decorations — though the company has expressly denied these claims — and advocacy organization GLAAD has released new a 2023 social media safety index that shows Twitter to be the most dangerous platform for LGBTQ+ people.

Pride flag bans

Some municipalities are banning most nongovernment flags from public property this Pride month, and Republican lawmakers would like to do the same for federal property. Critics of these bans argue they are aimed specifically at banning flags representing the LGBTQ+ community during Pride month — and proponents of the flag bans are doing little to dissuade those critics of that notion.

The city council of Hamtramck, Michigan, voted unanimously on June 14 to only allow the display of the city’s flag, the American flag, the Michigan flag, the POW/MIA flag and “the nations’ flags that represent the international character of our City” on city government property.

“You guys are welcome,” the Associated Press reported council member Nayeem Choudhury as saying to supporters of the pride flag during the meeting. “(But) why do you have to have the flag shown on government property to be represented? You’re already represented. We already know who you are.”

The Hamtramck City Council’s resolution justifies its decision by stating “each religious, ethnic, racial, political, or sexually oriented group is already represented by the country it belongs to” and “the City does not want to open the door for radical or racist groups to ask for their flags to be flown.”

The small enclave of Detroit has a high proportion of residents born outside the United States and is reported to be the first city in the nation with an all-Muslim city council.

Hamtramck’s city council is not the only local government to ban pride flags this month. The board of supervisors of Orange County, California, voted to restrict pride flags from county property earlier in June, though the board passed a resolution recognizing Pride month.

Republicans have taken up the issue at the federal level, with Sen. Roger Marshall (R-KS) proposing a ban on pride flags from federal buildings after an uproar over a flag flown at the White House on June 10.

Starbucks pride controversy

Starbucks is under fire over claims the company is banning or discouraging pride decorations, though the company denies the allegations.

Starbucks Workers United, a union representing the coffee chain’s employees, claimed in a tweet on June 13 that Starbucks was banning pride decorations in its stores. The tweet triggered a flurry of reporting, though Starbucks denied the claims in a statement to the American Independent Foundation.

“We unwaveringly support the LGBTQIA2+ community. There has been no change to any policy on this matter and we continue to encourage our store leaders to celebrate with their communities including for U.S. Pride month in June,” the statement said.

The Starbucks union has pushed back against the company’s denial.

“At my un-unionized Starbucks store, which is located in a state (i.e. Minnesota) that has established itself as a ‘safe haven’ for transgender people, we are not putting up Pride decorations,” reads a statement shared by Starbucks Workers United on Twitter that it said was from an employee at a Minnesota store.

Sen. Patty Murray’s speech

Senate President Pro Tempore Patty Murray (D-WA) condemned attacks on LGBTQ rights from the Senate floor on Thursday.

Murray gave an impassioned speech defending LGBTQ people, and particularly children, saying in part:

My message today to everyone who’s been encouraging or complicit in the attacks on the LGBTQ community is simple. First, leave kids and families alone. You are not their doctor. You are not their parent. You have no idea what they are going through, what they have gone through or what is best for them. It is not your say and it is not your business. Second, be kind. Be kind. You do not have to bully people because they are different. You do not have to champion hatred and fear or anger. You can make a different choice. It’s really not that hard to listen, to learn, to respect and accept people for who they are, to have compassion. And I promise it will make your world brighter and your heart will be lighter. Finally, if you do continue down this dangerous path, bullying kids, erasing LGBTQ people and demonizing them with dangerous rhetoric, I will rise against you every step of the way and I will do so with pride.

Twitter danger

New data from GLAAD shows Twitter to be the least safe social media platform for LGBTQ people.

In GLAAD’s 2023 Social Media Safety Index and Platform Scorecard, Twitter was given the lowest ranking out of five social media platforms the LGBTQ advocacy organization rated.

Twitter received a 33% score, a 12% decrease from its score last year, which GLAAD attributes to the social media platform’s removal of restrictions against deadnaming and misgendering, its lack of an employee diversity report, and missing features such as options for adding pronouns to users’ profiles.

Twitter’s score is lower than the 63% given to Instagram, 61% to Facebook, 57% to TikTok, and 54% to YouTube.

GLAAD recommended Twitter reinstate policies protecting transgender, nonbinary and gender-nonconforming people, commit to diversifying its workforce, and recommit to protecting LGBTQ expression, though Twitter CEO Elon Musk’s actions — including liking transphobic tweets — indicate that a course correction won’t likely happen any time soon.

Michigan’s new LGBTQ+ commission

Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer on June 11 signed an executive order establishing the state’s first LGBTQ+ commission.

“As we celebrate Pride, we must continue taking action to ensure that everyone has the freedom to be who they are in Michigan,” Whitmer said in a statement. “That’s why I am establishing the LGBTQ+ Commission to focus on health, safety, economic opportunity, and talent retention for the LGBTQ+ community. This issue is personal for me, and I will fight like hell to bring more diverse voices into the decision-making process so we can build a brighter future for every Michigander. While other states are engaged in the business of bigotry, Michigan is standing up for the LGBTQ+ community.”

Whitmer signed the order at the Motor City Pride parade in Detroit. The commission will advise the governor, as well as the director of the Department of Labor and Economic Opportunity on issues affecting the LGBTQ+ community, according to the governor’s statement.

Published with permission of The American Independent Foundation.