House Republicans this week introduced legislation to ban flags other than the American flag from being flown over US diplomatic and consular posts, after Biden administration Pride flags and Pride flags were allowed to be flown from American embassies.
Only the Old Glory Act, from Rep. Jeff Duncan of South Carolina, aims to fend off what Republicans say it is Politicization of American embassies by the Biden administration.
“Our beautiful flag, Old Glory, should be the only flag flying and representing our country on our diplomatic and consular posts around the world,” Duncan said this week. “The American flag is a beacon of freedom, and no other flag or symbol better portrays our shared values than the stars and stripes.”
“It is important to ensure that Old Glory is flown in only US embassies to represent our ideals abroad,” he said. There have been no specific talks yet about passing the bill, a congressional aide said, but Republicans are optimistic the new GOP leadership will be open to holding a vote given broad Republican support for the idea.
The push to fly the rainbow flag pride began in 2014, under the Obama administration. The flag of pride has been flown over embassies in more than a dozen countries since then, including Russia, Spain, Sweden and South Korea.
the Black spirits science is important He was flown to US embassies in Brazil, Greece, Spain, Bosnia, Cambodia and South Korea, according to Duncan’s office.
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Secretary of State Mike Pompeo banned the flying of these flags, but that decision was reversed under the Biden administration. In April 2021, Secretary of State Antony Blinken authorized embassies and consulates to fly the Pride Rainbow Flag.
He agreed to the change just before May 17, International Day Against Homophobia and Transphobia, and said embassy leaders could make a call about whether flying the pride flag was “appropriate in light of local circumstances.”
A month later, Blinken indicated his support for allowing embassies to fly Black Lives Matter flags on the anniversary of George Floyd’s death. A leaked memo from the State Department said it “supports the use of the term Black Lives Matter,” and said it authorizes officials to “display the BLM flag on an outward-facing flagstaff to any heads of mission who designate such a display.” appropriate in light of local conditions.
Those decisions led to Republican criticism that flying anything other than the American flag is a political statement that official US embassies should not make.
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In 2021, Rep. Nicole Malliotakis of New York proposed similar legislation to ban the use of other flags, and said the Biden administration was allowing the flying of “flags that are political in nature and that in no way belong to the US government.”
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