A Connecticut town council voted to ban the LGBTQ+ pride flag in government buildings almost immediately after coming under Republican control.

The Enfield Town Council voted in a meeting Monday to ban all flags from flying at government buildings save for the United States, Connecticut state, and military flags. The new policy, which went through with a vote of 6-5, replaces a 2022 policy that allowed the rainbow flag to fly during Pride Month in June.

While some the council members pushing the policy claimed to do so as a way to remain “neutral,” Councilor At-Large Gina Cekala, who voted against the measure, accused them of directly targeting the LGBTQ+ community and Pride flag.

“I think the real reason is you don’t want that Pride flag up on this town hall,” she said, “which is absolutely disgusting."

Tom Tyler, the interim town attorney, claimed at one point that if the the Pride flag was allowed to be flown, “ISIS could come in and want to display one, the IRA…basically anybody. You’d have to be content neutral and let everybody." He then went off-topic to accuse schools of trying to indoctrinate students with “transgender ideology.”

The decision came as a betrayal to many of the town’s residents, including Brandon Jewell of PFLAG Enfield, who noted that two of the Republicans voting to ban flags previously voted in favor of the 2022 policy that allowed the Pride displays.

read more: https://www.advocate.com/news/connecticut-pride-flag-ban-isis

  • nifty@lemmy.world
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    11 months ago

    If your populace requires different accommodations then you meet them, that’s why taxes are paid. If you’re not meeting the expectations of some members of the populace, then they should selectively be allowed to skip tax payment allotments to you.

    • cosmicrookie@lemmy.world
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      11 months ago

      Well - this is where we obviously dissagree. I don’t believe that a system can be expected to accomodate for any personal prefference or need. I do believe that it should try, but there are also considerations about the costs not affecting the level of service offered to the genneral public.

      • nifty@lemmy.world
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        11 months ago

        What are you on about? A representative or democratic system is made for its constituents, and the ideology of the Pride Flag is supported by the U.S. Constitution. There’s no issue here other than religious fundamentalism against gays and trans etc., which actually is explicitly prohibited by the U.S. constitution because technically the U.S. is not a theocracy.