A Connecticut town council voted to ban the LGBTQ+ pride flag in government buildings almost immediately after coming under Republican control.
The Enfield Town Council voted in a meeting Monday to ban all flags from flying at government buildings save for the United States, Connecticut state, and military flags. The new policy, which went through with a vote of 6-5, replaces a 2022 policy that allowed the rainbow flag to fly during Pride Month in June.
While some the council members pushing the policy claimed to do so as a way to remain “neutral,” Councilor At-Large Gina Cekala, who voted against the measure, accused them of directly targeting the LGBTQ+ community and Pride flag.
“I think the real reason is you don’t want that Pride flag up on this town hall,” she said, “which is absolutely disgusting."
Tom Tyler, the interim town attorney, claimed at one point that if the the Pride flag was allowed to be flown, “ISIS could come in and want to display one, the IRA…basically anybody. You’d have to be content neutral and let everybody." He then went off-topic to accuse schools of trying to indoctrinate students with “transgender ideology.”
The decision came as a betrayal to many of the town’s residents, including Brandon Jewell of PFLAG Enfield, who noted that two of the Republicans voting to ban flags previously voted in favor of the 2022 policy that allowed the Pride displays.
read more: https://www.advocate.com/news/connecticut-pride-flag-ban-isis
Ugggh, so I really don’t want to be on their side with this, but… I kind of agree that the only flags that should fly in government buildings is US, state, and military flags. There also shouldn’t be religious wall decorations like the Ten Commandments or crosses. There shouldn’t be Confederate flags. There shouldn’t be state university flags. It’s a government building, and it should represent everyone equally, and not promote any cause, group, or religion except explicitly what is part of the government.
I reeeeeeally don’t like the reason they want to ban it, but I think it would be great for every government building to adopt those standards.
I think the government has an obligation to represent oppressed minorities, including their symbology when appropriate.There is no such thing as neutrality, and even if it wasn’t for regressive reasons it would still be a regressive policy.
IMHO, the crucial difference is that the LGBTQ pride flag isn’t saying the gays are the best. It’s merely asking for equal treatment, for human rights. A government which does not agree with those goals, which does not work for the equal treatment and human rights of all its citizen, is being partial in precisely the way you describe.
Why military? Isn’t that a cause/group that isn’t part of the judicial, executive, or legislative branches of the US government?
Honestly, I’d personally be fine if they dropped military, too. But it is, at least, part of the government.
You don’t articulate how it’s part of the government or where it fits into it, so I looked it up. For anyone else reading, the military of the US is part of the Department of Defense, which is technically considered to be an arm of the executive branch of the government.
That said, I’m not sure I’d agree with the other poster that they’re a neutral party with regards to ideological/group affiliation.