Schumer Proposes Pride Flag Legislation

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer from New York is advocating for the Pride flag to receive the same recognition as the American flag under federal law.

He intends to introduce a bill to designate the Pride flag—an emblem of the LGBTQ movement—as the official flag of Congress. If passed, this would provide the Pride flag with similar protections as the U.S., military, and POW/MIA flags, among others sanctioned by Congress.

This initiative follows the recent removal of the Pride flag from the national monument outside the Stonewall Inn by the Trump administration. The Stonewall riots in the 1960s are often cited as pivotal to the gay rights movement.

“Stonewall is a sacred site, and Congress must act now to protect the Pride flag and its symbols forever,” Schumer remarked. “Trump’s hateful campaign must end.”

Since then, the flag has been re-raised at the Stonewall Inn, and Schumer’s proposed legislation aims to ensure it remains there in the future.

While Trump has not specifically targeted the Pride flag, he did issue an executive order that restricts the types of flags allowed on federal property, prioritizing the American flag.

Pride flags have faced removal from various monuments. An internal memo from the Department of the Interior mandated that non-governmental flags be taken down in national parks, with some exceptions for historic and military flags.

Stonewall National Monument, designated by former President Obama in 2016, is administered by the National Park Service. Unfortunately, the Pride flag was not considered a protected flag under current rules.

Schumer emphasized, “The core of America’s identity is freedom and justice for all, and that’s what this law protects: the ability for each national park to independently decide which flag it can fly. Attempts to harm New York and the LGBTQ community simply will not fly, but the flag of Stonewall Pride will always fly.”