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Topics: US News, Politics, LGBTQ, Black Lives Matter, Donald Trump
Britt Jones
Topics: US News, Politics, LGBTQ, Black Lives Matter, Donald Trump
President Donald Trump has reportedly put a ban on the Black Lives Matter and Pride flags just days after taking office.
President Trump has begun his presidential journey with a loud bang.
Trump signed off on 25 executive orders, which included halting the ban of TikTok, changing laws on immigration, and declaring that there are 'only two genders' in the US.
But now, he’s aiming at two particular flags which represent a portion of the nation.
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As the State Department enacted a ‘one flag policy’, any US embassy or overseas mission cannot fly the Pride or BLM flag, according to The Washington Free Beacon.
The new directive means that only three flags that are not the stars and strips of the US national flag, can be flown.
These are the Prisoner of War, the Missing in Action, and the Hostage of Wrongful Detainee flags.
The Beacon, a news agency reported as the order stating: "Starting immediately, only the United States of America flag is authorized to be flown or displayed at U.S. facilities, both domestic and abroad, and featured in U.S. government content.”
The order was unanimously confirmed by the Senate on Monday (20 January) in a 99-0 vote.
Both of the flags have been raised in front of official US buildings, such as the US Embassy and Consulate in Brazile, which raised the Black Lives Matter flag in February 2022 to ‘commemorate Black History Month’.
US embassies in Trinidad and Tobago also did the same.
Pride flags have also been flown at the White House and the US embassy in Moscow.
The US Embassy in Nassau flew the rainbow colors for the entire month of June in 2021 and in May 2023, the Latvian Embassy in Riga raised the flag in to recognize the International Day Against Homophobia, Transphobia, and Biphobia.
The order came from the desk of Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who wrote: "The U.S. flag is a powerful symbol of pride and it is fitting and respectful that only the U.S. flag be flown or displayed at U.S. facilities, both domestically and abroad.”
Kevin Jennings, the chief executive officer at Lambda Legal, told Newsweek that the ban of the Pride and other flags, is ‘perry and mean-spirited’.
He said: "Flying such flags is simply a signal to people that they matter. It hurts no one. We have much bigger challenges to address as a nation and this is just a small-minded distraction from them."
As per The Beacon, the order will not take lightly any attempt to fly the banned flags.
Any State Department employees who breach the new policy will ‘face disciplinary action, including termination of employment or contract, or reassignment to their home agency’, however, it is unsure if there is any other penalty too.
People on social media have been reacting to this new order, and they aren’t happy.
One user stated: “It's a human rights violation. The UN will deal with it.”
Another wrote: “Seems like the government banning free expression.”
UNILAD has reached out the White House for comment.