State department workers have been using the hashtag #DiplomatsforEquality to rally support. Ambassador in Madrid under President Obama, we didn’t hang the pride flag on a wall, or hide it inside the embassy signaling second class status…we hung it proudly on the primary flag pole together with the American flag and celebrated it. “We didn’t hang the pride on a wall, or hide inside the embassy signaling second class status,” James Costas wrote on Instagram.Īs U.S. “In 70 countries, there are laws that criminalise private, consensual sexual relations between adults of the same sex, and we were and are alarmed by recent severely retrograde and inhumane measures brought in to target these relationships,” it said, adding thatįlying his own defiance, the former ambassador to Spain posted photos of him flying the rainbow flag alongside Old Glory back in the Obama years. Then there’s the American embassy in Vienna, which straight up ignored the order and hoisted the flag beneath the stars and stripes.ĭiplomats there made their position clear last month by signing onto a statement with American missions around the world for last month’s International Day against Homophobia, Transphobia and Biphobia. Have a safe and happy Pride Month! /tZNh0KeH75
USA is committed to defending human rights for all, incl LGBTI persons. Congrats to Seoul Queer Culture Festival’s 20th anniversary. In late May, the embassy in Seoul displayed the flag on the edifice of its building while ambassador Harry Harris declared LGBT rights are human rights.Īt the Seoul Pink Dot Festival. commitment to defending human rights for all.
Mission in Nepal community, I join people around the world in celebrating Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, & Intersex #PrideMonth, and reaffirm the U.S. “As we celebrate LGBT Pride Month and recognize the outstanding contribution LGBT people have make to our great Nation, let us also stand in solidarity with the many LGBT people who in dozens of countries worldwide that punish, imprison, or even execute individuals… /3QxbIVLbhyĮarlier this month, Randy Berry, ambassador to Nepal, declared his commitment to “defending human rights for all” on Twitter along with a picture of himself with the embassy staff holding up balloon letters spelling out “Pride 19.” In the background, a large rainbow flag can be seen. In Mongolia, the embassy proudly hung a rainbow flag from its gate. The United States Embassy in New Delhi is lit up in #Pride colors to celebrate #PrideMonth. Embassy in New Delhi lit up its entire building in rainbow colors. No flag pole, no problem seems to be the response of the diplomatic corps, who’ve been forced to get a little creative to promote LGBT rights this month. The change has made promoting equality something of a rebellious act for American diplomats worldwide, with embassies in Korea, India, Chile, Austria, Mongolia and elsewhere finding ways to evade the ban. The gay pride flag is offensive to Christians & millions of people of other faiths, not only in this country but around the world. The only flag that should fly over our embassies is the flag of the USA. “When it comes to the American flagpole and American embassies and capitals around the world, one American flag flies,” he said.Įvangelical Christian leader and Trump supporter Franklin Graham tweeted his support for the ban earlier this month, saying pride flags were “offensive to Christians & millions of people…around the world.” Earlier this month, Vice President Mike Pence, who once said gay couples were a sign of “societal collapse,” told NBC News that he supported it.
The rainbow flag ban has support from the highest levels of American power. State department rules at the time specified the pride flag must be small and flown lower than the national flag. It reversed a 2011 Obama-era rule that America’s outposts around the world should promote LGBT rights. Though such requests were approved last year, all were denied in 2019. Upon being appointed the secretary of state last year, Mike Pompeo, an evangelical Christian opposed to gay marriage, ordered diplomats to obtain approval from Washington to fly rainbow flags. Consulate in Chiang Mai is also displaying the rainbow flag on their wall. We are proud to celebrate equality in our diversity.Ī post shared by U.S. Ambassador’s Residence to show our support for the #LGBT community this Pride Month.