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After backlash over a spending bill provision banning Pride flags at U.S. embassies, the Biden-Harris administration is emphasizing its dedication to LGBTQ+ advocacy and outlining efforts to mitigate the impact of the law.
The White House is responding to accusations that a compromise to fund the government symbolizes a capitulation on the backs of LGBTQ+ people.
On Saturday, President Joe Biden signed a bill to keep the government open, which included a provision banning LGBTQ+ Pride flags from being flown on the exteriors of U.S. embassies. This led to criticism from some in the LGBTQ+ community. In response, the administration emphasized its continued dedication to promoting and protecting LGBTQ+ rights globally despite the legislative compromise to ensure the passage of the vital spending bill.
“President Biden believes it was inappropriate to abuse the process that was essential to keep the government open by including this policy targeting LGBTQI+ Americans,” the spokesperson said in a statement to The Advocate.
The spokesperson said that the administration fought vigorously against including this provision, indicating a behind-the-scenes effort to mitigate its impact.
“While it will have no impact on the ability of members of the LGBTQI+ community to serve openly in our embassies or to celebrate Pride, the Administration fought against the inclusion of this policy and we will continue to work with members of Congress to find an opportunity to repeal it,” they added. “We were successful in defeating 50+ other policy riders attacking the LGBTQI+ community that Congressional Republicans attempted to insert into the legislation. President Biden is committed to fighting for LGBTQI+ equality at home and abroad.”
Out of 52 anti-LGBTQ+ provisions proposed, 51 were decisively rejected during bipartisan negotiations, according to the Human Rights Campaign. These rejected provisions included attempts to restrict access to essential health care for transgender individuals, enable taxpayer-funded discrimination against same-sex couples, and block efforts toward nondiscrimination and diversity, equity, and inclusion. Republicans have been scandalized by Pride flags for more than a year.
Following the White House’s largest LGBTQ+ Pride Month event ever last June, right-wing outlets, notably Fox News, launched attacks against the Biden-Harris administration for displaying the Progress Pride Flag, accusing it of symbolizing “grooming” and pedophilia without basis.
Fox News initially published an inflammatory article with a headline that was later altered after White House Deputy Press Secretary Andrew Bates criticized the network for misinformation and hypocrisy. Bates highlighted Fox News’s contradiction, as its parent company had previously embraced the Progress Pride Flag, which includes elements symbolizing support for transgender, nonbinary, and intersex people as well as people of color, in its corporate responsibility report.
HRC National Press Secretary Brandon Wolf criticized Republicans on the flag ban. He called out the political motivations behind it, pointing out the perceived desperation in House Speaker Mike Johnson’s celebration of the provision as a legislative win. Wolf emphasized the bill’s failure to significantly alter the presence and celebration of LGBTQ+ Pride within embassy premises.
“FWIW, the flag provision would continue to allow pride flags to be present in almost all cases at embassies, except flown over the exterior of the building. It doesn’t limit a flag on, in front of, inside, at workspaces, etc. Trying to sell that as your big win is pathetic,” Wolf wrote on X, formerly Twitter.
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