June is designated LGBT Pride Month, and rainbows are displayed on everywhere from T-shirts to restaurant chains to the Uber app. Even with all the gay pride flags, parades, and recognition the LGBT community receives in the U.S. during June, the Left is still not satisfied. They demand that the rainbow flag be flown over U.S. embassies abroad.
Look at this practice that’s been in place since the Obama administration — President Barack Obama actively promoted the LGBT community not just domestically but also internationally through the U.N., State Department, and U.S. Agency for International Development.
First, we should recognize that the LGBT community does have reason for fear. Their human rights are violated around the world through harassment, killings, beatings, and imprisonment, and homosexuality is criminalized in at least 73 countries. In Tanzania, laws against homosexuality carry a sentence of up to 30 years, and authorities have been accused by human rights groups of subjecting suspected homosexuals to “forced anal exams.” And who could forget the horrific 2015 images of ISIS pushing gay men off buildings to their death? There are other incidents equally as evil, and the U.S. must stand firmly against these insidious abuses.
We should all agree that addressing human rights abuses around the world must be a central tenet of U.S. foreign policy. But why is one group singled out and others ignored?
In some of these same countries, women are stoned and executed for adultery and lack the full ability to defend themselves in court since their witness statement carries only “half the weight of a man’s.” Although women can technically vote in most countries around the world today, they are hindered from doing so by systems of male guardianship, oppression, and illiteracy. Furthermore, women in many countries still lack basic rights such as property ownership or legal rights to their children.
Gender-based violence is on the rise around the world, and little girls are still being barred or discouraged from attending school or forced into “marriages.” The issues faced by women around the world should unite the Right and the Left. While we differ on the issue of abortion, we certainly should at least agree on this list.
This year marks the 100th anniversary of Congress formally proposing the constitutional amendment that codified women’s right to vote, and 2020 will mark a century since the amendment’s ratification by the states. The suffrage movement used sophisticated branding and banners to advocate for women’s rights.
Why not follow their lead in advocating for women around the world? Who can forget the iconic and historic banner used by the suffragist movement that said, “Votes for Women”? If we are going to display third-party symbols on our embassies, why not a flag that says, “Equality for Women”? Surely, women abroad deserve our help.
What about the 215 million Christians who experienced high to extreme levels of persecution in 2017? This number represents 1 in every 12 Christians worldwide and includes killings, abductions, rape, sexual harassment, and attacks against churches. According to a Pew Research Center report in 2015, Christians are “harassed” in more countries than any other religious group in the world. The Christian flag dates back to 1897 and stands for purity, peace, fidelity, and sacrifice. It represents 2.3 billion people, nearly one-third of the world’s population. Why not add the Christian flag to the top of U.S. embassies?
If the answer is that not all Americans or U.S. diplomats are Christians, then this is instructive for the current debate — the vast majority of Americans are not gay or transgender. Millions still have a traditional view of marriage and sexuality and don’t support or participate in pride month. Should Christians, Muslims, and others with traditional views be forced to pay homage to homosexuality and celebrate gay pride month, even if it violates their religious beliefs?
A top human rights activist once told me that she could not oppose the practice of child brides because her opposition could be considered a “paternalistic” action toward developing countries. I just barely kept my cool, but her point is shared by many liberals at the U.S. State Department. But somehow promoting an LGBTQ ideology to foreign countries gets a pass.
But no more.
Surely our nation’s diplomats are sophisticated enough to communicate our support for human rights of the LGBTQ community and for every other minority group without any added symbols other than the American flag, a testimony to our nation’s defense of the defenseless. Our flag embodies the principles of individual liberty and justice for all. It should be the final word and symbol for every identity group. We are all Americans and that’s all the world needs to know.
Penny Young Nance is president and CEO of Concerned Women for America, the nation’s largest women’s public policy organization. She is the author of the book Feisty and Feminine: A Rallying Cry for Conservative Women (Zondervan 2016). Shea Garrison is vice president for International Affairs for Concerned Women for America and is affiliated faculty and Policy Fellow at Schar School of Policy and Government at George Mason University.
