Vice President Mike Pence defended the Trump administration’s decision to prohibit gay pride flags flying from U.S. embassies’ official flag poles.
The State Department has rejected embassies’ requests to fly the pride flag on the facilities’ official flag pole during June, LGBT Pride Month. Pence said he supported the decision on Monday in an interview with NBC News.
“I am aware that the State Department indicated that on the flag pole of our American embassies that one flag should fly, and that’s the American flag, and I support that,” Pence said.
Pence noted that the Trump administration has placed no other restrictions on embassies wishing to mark Pride Month. Embassies are able to fly the pride flag, hold events, and decorate their facilities as they see fit.
“As the president said on the night we were elected, we are proud to be able to serve every American. We both feel that way very passionately, but when it comes to the American flag pole at American embassies in capitals around the world, having one American flag fly, I think, is the right decision,” Pence said. “And we’ve put no restriction on displaying any other flags or any other displays at our embassies beyond that.”
The State Department has formed a commission led by U.S. Ambassador to Germany Richard Grenell, who is openly gay, to push for decriminalizing homosexuality in dozens of countries around the world.
Some in the LGBT community doubt the sincerity of the commission’s intent in the wake of the State Department’s flag policy.
“We sincerely doubt that this commission is being organized to ensure that the human rights of LGBTQ people and others who experience extreme violence and discrimination are being protected to the fullest extent,” said Ty Cobb, global director of the Human Rights Campaign.
