Voters in the conservative California city of Huntington Beach approved a measure on March 5, Super Tuesday, that bans non-government flags from being flown on city government property. The measure, which includes banning the flying of rainbow flags, prompted angry backlash from LGBTQ activists and advocates.
As background, the policy was called Measure B. Authored by Huntington Beach City Councilman Pat Burns, it prohibits all manner of non-government flags from flying on city property, including everything from Pride to Confederate to Breast Cancer Awareness flags. It passed with flying colors, garnering well over half of the city’s vote.
The ballot measure asked voters, “Shall proposed Charter Amendment No. 2, which provides that the only flags to be displayed by the City on City property are the United States Flag, the State of California Flag, the County of Orange Flag, the City of Huntington Beach Flag, the POW-MIA Flag, the six Armed Forces Flags, the Olympic Flag during the Summer Olympic Games, and any other flag if authorized by a unanimous vote of the City Council, be approved?”
Speaking about the measure in an interview with Fox News Digital, City Councilman Burns said that the measure was not meant to be divisive or discriminatory, but rather unifying. He sees it as helping encourage people to unify around their joint identity as Americans rather than any special interest group characteristics.
Commenting on what he sees as being the problem with identity politics and interest group squabbles, Burns said, “I’m against the identity politics, I think it’s divisive. I think it’s demeaning to be honest, that flag, that I find is so insulting to LGBTQ. And I know that they support it, but in my mind, it’s demeaning that they need some kind of special recognition to feel like they’re part of our community. People are equal and those kinds of things are divisive.”
He continued, saying that while people can have whatever views they want, it’s not the role of the city to play “I love differing opinions. I love checks and balances. That’s what makes us so great that we can have different voices, in society, but I just don’t think it’s our place as a city government, like, to play those identity politics.”
Predictably, progressive LGBTQ groups disagreed with the decision. For example, Peg Coley, the executive director of the LGBTQ Center Orange County, released a statement to the media on the city government’s new, voter-approved measure.
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In the statement, Coley claimed that the City Council of Huntington Beach is a government “run by a hateful majority whose only interest is advancing an agenda of intolerance for minority communities, including LGBTQ+ individuals.” Continuing, the statement provided, “The pendulum always swings back and history is the harshest judge, but informed votes are the very best prevention.”
The same organization announced it would be giving rainbow flags to residents in a post on Facebook, saying, “Huntington Beach residents and businesses don’t need city approval to fly Pride flags. The LGBTQ Center OC has 200 flags we will proudly give to Huntington Beach residents!”
Featured image credit: By Ludovic Bertron from New York City, Usa – https://www.flickr.com/photos/23912576@N05/2942525739, CC BY 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=14831997