Listeners:
Top listeners:
-
play_arrow
Schumer Bill Would Give Pride Flag Federal Protections
By Chris Wade | The Center Square contributor
(Worthy News) – New York Sen. Chuck Schumer has filed a bill to give the pride flag the same legal standing as the U.S. flag and military banners.
The proposal, which faces long odds in the Republican-controlled Congress, comes in response to a simmering dispute over the Trump administration’s decision to remove an LGBTQ pride flag from Stonewall National Monument in New York City.
Schumer said Stonewall is “sacred ground and Congress must act now to permanently protect the Pride flag and what it stands for” by granting federal protections that would allow it to be flown outside government buildings, and National Park sites.
“Trump’s hateful crusade must end,” Schumer said in a statement. “The very core of American identity is liberty and justice for all – and that is what this legislation would protect: each national park’s ability to make their own decision about what flag can be flown.”
The Stonewall Inn in Greenwich Village is considered the birthplace of the modern LGBTQ rights movement. In 1969, a police raid at the gay bar sparked protests and skirmishes between rioters and police. Then-President Barack Obama designated the monument in 2016 during his second term.
The Interior Department quietly removed the flag about two weeks ago, citing a 2023 federal directive restricting the kinds of flags that can be flown on National Park sites. The department said only U.S. flags, historical flags, military flags, or flags of federally recognized Tribal nations can fly within the parks.
“Flagpoles at buildings under the jurisdiction, custody, or control of DOI are also not intended to serve as a forum for free expression by the public,” the agency said in a memo.
But Schumer and other New York Democrats accused the federal agency of trying “erase history” and gathered with LGBTQ activists at the monument on Thursday where they “re-raised” the rainbow flag.
While Trump hasn’t personally targeted the Stonewall monument in his public statements, critics say the flag removal is the latest example of the Trump administration’s efforts to purge federal institutions and landmarks of materials that conflict with the president’s political agenda.
Last year, the park service removed references to transgender and queer people on its web page for the Stonewall monument, drawing outrage from LGBTQ groups.
Manhattan Borough President Brad Hoylman-Sigal, who joined other Democrats in re-raising the flag last week, is among those who support Schumer’s proposal. He said the legislation “protects our legacy, our dignity, and the generations who will look to Stonewall as proof that progress, once won, must be defended.”
“Authorizing the Pride flag in federal law is about more than symbolism, it’s about permanence,” he said in a statement. “It sends a clear message that LGBTQ+ history is not subject to political whims and that our visibility cannot be stripped away. Civil rights landmarks should not be vulnerable to shifting administrations.”
Copyright 1999-2026 Worthy News. This article was originally published on Worthy News and was reproduced with permission.
Latest News from Worthy News
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un marked the 73rd anniversary of the Korean War armistice by paying tribute at war memorials and cemeteries, accompanied for the first time by his daughter, Ju Ae, in a move that analysts say further underscores her increasingly prominent public role.
President Donald Trump said Monday that Iran is seeking negotiations after two weeks of sustained American airstrikes, portraying Tehran’s diplomatic outreach as evidence that the U.S. military campaign has forced the Islamic regime back to the bargaining table.
President Donald Trump and three Republican senators are pressing Senate Majority Leader John Thune to keep the chamber in session through August until lawmakers pass the SAVE America Act, escalating a growing dispute over one of the president’s top election-integrity priorities.
President Donald Trump announced Sunday that Morocco was naming a major Atlantic expressway in his honor, drawing renewed attention to a sweeping infrastructure project linking the kingdom’s southern regions with the disputed territory of Western Sahara.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu departed for Washington on Monday ahead of a closely watched meeting with U.S. President Donald Trump, saying Iran and efforts to expand regional peace agreements would be at the center of the discussions. Netanyahu left Israel from Nevatim Airbase after an unexplained delay under heightened security precautions.
Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa said Damascus is seeking a security agreement with Israel that could eventually open the door to broader peace talks, declaring that his government has no interest in entering another military confrontation with the Jewish state.
Iranian Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei has openly called for continued “jihad and resistance” against Israel and the United States while declaring the defense of Hezbollah a strategic obligation of the Islamic Republic.
WHO WE ARE
The Psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs encapsulate the beauty, wisdom, and eternal truths found in the Bible, creating an immersive experience that resonates with believers and seekers alike.
CONTACT
- +1 908 280-4246
- Essex County, USA
- info@tnjrfm.com