Trump team refuses to let US embassies fly rainbow flag during Pride Month
U.S. embassies in Israel, Germany, Brazil, and Latvia were denied permission to fly the rainbow flag on their flagpoles during Pride Month.
In another slight to the LGBTQ community, Trump officials at the State Department denied requests from multiple U.S. embassies around the world to fly the rainbow flag during Pride Month, according to a Friday report from NBC News.
Embassies in at least four countries — Israel, Germany, Brazil, and Latvia — requested permission to fly the rainbow flag on their flagpole during LGBTQ Pride Month, which is celebrated in June to honor the 1969 Stonewall riots.
All four embassies were denied permission.
NBC reports that while the rainbow flag can be displayed elsewhere on embassy grounds, the Trump administration won’t allow the flag to be flown on the embassy’s official flagpole.
This is a sharp contrast with President Obama’s tenure, when embassies were granted blanket permission to fly the rainbow flag on their official flagpoles.
At the end of May, Trump tweeted out his supposed support of Pride Month — but his actions before and since belie his words.
For the third year in a row, Trump refused to issue an official proclamation declaring June as Pride Month.
Obama, on the other hand, issued a proclamation each June celebrating the the courage and contributions of LGBTQ Americans. “During Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Pride Month, as Americans wave their flags of pride high and march boldly forward in parades and demonstrations, let us celebrate how far we have come and reaffirm our steadfast belief in the equal dignity of all Americans,” Obama said in his 2016 proclamation.
In addition to these public slights, Trump has attacked the LGBTQ community with his policies and sided with extremists who want to discriminate against LGBTQ individuals and families.
Trump has rolled back Obama-era protections for gay couples seeking to adopt. In April, Trump instituted a ban on transgender Americans serving in the military. And Trump is working to roll back health care protections instituted by President Obama that protect transgender Americans from being discriminated against by doctors and nurses.
Trump may claim to celebrate Pride Month, but his actions clearly send the opposite message.
Published with permission of The American Independent Foundation.
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