Photo: Saul Loeb Archives Agence France Presse In this file photo taken on October 08, 2019, LGBT rights protesters gather outside the United States Supreme Court in Washington, DC, as the Court holds oral arguments in three cases involving discrimination in work based on sexual orientation.
France Media Agency in Washington
1:51 p.m.
- United States
The US Congress is set to ban US embassies from flying the rainbow flag, the standard of the LGBT community, on their flagpoles, a victory for conservatives.
This measure is part of a long-standing cultural battle between Democrats and Republicans.
It was slipped into the budget of the American federal state, a text of more than 1000 pages unveiled by elected officials Thursday morning.
The bill stipulates that only the American Stars and Stripes and official flags can receive funding to fly on the official flagpole of embassies.
Under the presidency of Donald Trump, the head of diplomacy Mike Pompeo ordered that only the American flag fly on the masts of embassies, provoking strong protests from the LGBT (lesbian, gay, bi, trans).
In power since 2021, Joe Biden has made the defense of sexual minorities a strong axis of his diplomacy. His Secretary of State Antony Blinken not only authorized but encouraged American missions to raise the rainbow flag in June, Pride month.
But the Democratic president should, barring any major surprises, authorize the ban announced Thursday, since it is included in a text which must at all costs be adopted by the end of the week, for budgetary questions.