California’s Huntington Beach Bans Pride Flags
county election results. Moving forward, any flag representing a political or social cause, such as breast cancer awareness, a specific religion, or a specific community — such as the LGBTQ community — will not be permitted to fly on city-owned flagpoles.There are exemptions for city, county, and state flags, the U.S.
and armed forces flags, and “commemorative banners,” such as flags for service members who are prisoners of war or missing in action, or banners for the Olympics.The measure went to ballot after the City Council, fueled by the electoral victories of four conservative members, approved an ordinance to limit what types of flags could be displayed.Previously, in 2021, a more liberal-leaning city council voted unanimously to fly the rainbow-colored Pride flag in June to commemorate Pride Month.
Councilmember Pat Burns, a Republican, led the effort to approve the ordinance.Although Burns did not specifically mention the Pride flag when proposing the policy, he argued that the city “should avoid actions that could easily or mistakenly be perceived as divisive,” claiming that “all are equally valued members of our community, and none are to be treated differently or discriminated against.”Notably, all other flags that had previously been flown on city property — with the exception of the Pride flag — were exempt in Burns’s approved ban.To fly any other flags from city property in the future would require an additional exemption, granted only by a unanimous vote of the city council.The approval of Measure B follows a trend of conservative-leaning cities and towns taking steps to defy the larger liberal society and left-leaning politicians, including Gov.
