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- US embassies and diplomatic missions are honoring LGBTQ pride month around the globe, despite the State Department’s decision to reject requests to fly rainbow flags.
- Several embassies also honored pride month and other LGBTQ celebrations in other ways.
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Several United States embassies around the globe displayed the rainbow flag over the weekend in honor LGBTQ pride celebrations, despite decisions from the State Department to discontinue the tradition started during Barack Obama’s presidency.
Leading up to LGBTQ pride month, the US State Department embassies rejected several requests to fly rainbow flags, leading some to take action on their own.
US offices in Seoul, South Korea and Chennai, India hoisted the flag outside their buildings, while others showcased support for LGBTQ pride in other ways.
In Jerusalem, Israel, US diplomats participated in massive LGBTQ pride march, according to the Washington Post.
Embassies in Santiago, Chile and Vienna, Austria also honored the International Day against Homophobia and Transphobia on May 17. The US embassy in New Delhi, India lit up with rainbow colored lights, according to a banner photo on the embassy’s official Twitter page.
Multiple embassies requested to fly the rainbow flag in honor of LGBTQ pride celebrations, but the State Department denied them.
Franklin Graham, a right-wing pastor and prominent supporter of President Donald Trump, praised the decision on Twitter, writing that he is offended by the rainbow flag.
"The only flag that should fly over our embassies is the flag of the USA," he wrote. "The gay pride flag is offensive to Christians & millions of people of other faiths, not only in this country but around the world."
But President Donald Trump honored pride month, becoming the first Republican president to do so.
"As we celebrate LGBT Pride Month and recognize the outstanding contributions LGBT people have made to our great Nation, let us also stand in solidarity with the many LGBT people who live in dozens of countries worldwide that punish, imprison, or even execute individuals on the basis of their sexual orientation," he wrote in a string of tweets.
Still, activists and supporters of LGBTQ rights have been adamantly opposed to Trump’s policy decisions. Chad Griffin, the president of the Human Rights Campaign, condemned Trump’s tweets honoring pride month.
"You can’t celebrate Pride and constantly undermine our rights — including attacking #TransHealth, discharging #TransTroops, refusing to protect LGBTQ youth, and cozying up to dictators who brutalize & marginalize LGBTQ people. This is gross hypocrisy, with an emphasis on gross," he wrote on Twitter.
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- The Trump administration is reportedly rejecting requests from US embassies to fly the rainbow flag on the flagpole for LGBTQ Pride Month
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Source: Business Insider – jperticone@businessinsider.com (Joe Perticone)