Evangelical leader Franklin Graham on Saturday celebrated news reports that the Trump administration has denied multiple requests from U.S. embassies to fly the LGBT Pride flag on their flagpoles for Pride month.
In a post to his Facebook page, Graham personally thanked Trump and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo for “making the decision not to fly the gay flag over our embassies during June in recognition of gay pride month.”
It was the “right decision,” Graham declared.
“The only flag that should fly over our embassies is the flag of the United States of America,” Graham continued.
“The gay pride flag is offensive to Christians and millions of people of other faiths, not only in this country but around the world,” he claimed. “The U.S. flag represents our nation—everyone—regardless of race, religion, or sexual orientation.”
According to various reports, some US embassies have been spotted flying the flag despite the State Department’s advisory.
The Washington Post reports:
The facades of the U.S. missions in Seoul and Chennai, India, are partially hidden behind large rainbow flags, while the embassy in New Delhi is aglow in rainbow colored lights. The website for the embassy in Santiago, Chile, shows a video of the chief diplomat raising a rainbow flag last month for the International Day Against Homophobia, Transphobia and Biphobia.
The Vienna embassy’s website features a photo of a rainbow flag flying below Old Glory on a mast jutting from the building, a statement by Diplomats for Equality and a story about a professor lecturing on the visibility and growth of LGBT rights.
The Obama administration gave blanket permission to U.S. embassies to fly the Pride flag during June, which is recognized as LGBT Pride Month.
