New guidance from Defense Secretary Mark Esper on flag displays at military installations is being hailed for prohibiting the display of Confederate flags — but the memo also bans the display of LGBTQ Pride flags, the Washington Blade has learned.
A Pentagon spokesperson affirmed Friday a read of the guidance — which excludes the display of flags other than the U.S. flag, state flags and others listed — to prohibit LGBTQ Pride flags is “correct.” “The memorandum does not authorize public display of unlisted flags in the Department of Defense,” Pentagon spokesperson Lisa Lawrence said in a statement.
The guidance issued Friday by the Defense Department appears to get around Trump’s hostility toward removing symbols of the Confederacy — which