facepalm

This backwards California city just voted to ban Pride flags

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The rainbow flag for Pride
(Photo: Shutterstock)

What is going on down in Huntington Beach, California? Citizens of the wealthy, surf town just voted against the display of Pride flags.

The ordinance (Measure B) bans the display of non-governmental flags on public properties. Although not specifically targeting the rainbow flag, such flag bans usually follow public buildings displaying the rainbow flag.

Flags that are allowed are city, county and state flags, as well as the US and armed forces flags. City Hall would also be allowed to fly commemorative banners for events such as the Olympics.

Just over 58% of voters cast ballots on Tuesday in favor of Measure B. The city has around 54,000 registered Republican voters against 41,000 Democrats, with a further 28,000 registering no party preference.

The city council previously voted to fly the rainbow flag on public buildings during Pride Month. That provoked a backlash. The city council then voted last year to change the city charter to ban the flying of non-governmental flags.

In an interview with NBC News, the city mayor defended the proposed ban. Gracey Van Der Mark is a former Democrat who switched to Republican in 2016.

“A lot of this is taking Huntington Beach back to how it was,” she said. “A lot of cities are afraid to push back because they don’t want to be the target of Sacramento. We’re not afraid.”

However, the move has dismayed many supporters of LGBTQ+ rights.

“The Huntington Beach City Council is run by a hateful majority whose only interest is advancing an agenda of intolerance for minority communities, including LGBTQ+ individuals,” said Peg Coley, the executive director of the LGBTQ Center Orange County. “The pendulum always swings back and history is the harshest judge, but informed votes are the very best prevention.”

Angrytown, USA

The Orange County city has previously been dubbed “Angrytown, USA”. This is not the first time it has bucked the California trend in culture wars. It was the scene of several lockdown protests early in the pandemic.

Last year, California Governor, Gavin Newsom, accused the town of trying to be the “poster child for nimbyism”. That accusation came after it refused to comply with affordable housing development rules. In other words, residents didn’t want affordable homes built near its wealthy properties.

Huntington Beach city council member Dan Kalmick told The Guardian, “It’s pretty wild what’s happening here.” He opposed Measure B and pointed out that just holding a special election had cost the city between $400,000 to $500,000.

Besides the ban on Pride flags, voters also approved measures to require voter ID in local elections.

Fellow council member Rhonda Bolton, who like Kalmick opposed Measure B, said the flag ban may have some unexpected consequences. In a video posted Tuesday urging people to vote, she pointed out, “the Blue Lives Matter flag in the lobby of the police department would be in violation of the city’s charter.”

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