Senator Chuck Schumer (D-NY) intends to introduce legislation federalizing the Pride flag. The move follows the Trump administration removing it from the Stonewall National Monument.
“When the Trump administration ripped the Pride flag down, it was a direct attack on this community—an attempt to chip away at hard-won civil rights,” Schumer said over the weekend, declaring Democrats to be “fighting back and taking action.”
“I am introducing legislation to designate the Pride flag as a congressionally authorized flag in America, and that means it can be flown here and everywhere else,” he said. “No one can take it down.”
Schumer, alongside Senator Gillibrand (D-NY) and Representative Dan Goldman (D-NY), sent a letter last week to Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum and National Park Service Acting Director Jessica Bowron, demanding that the flag be “replaced immediately.”
“We unequivocally reject this administration’s attempts to erase or otherwise rewrite LGBTQ+ history, which fundamentally undermines the trust and respect of communities that are central to our American story,” the letter condemned. “At a time when hate crimes against LGBTQ+ individuals remain alarmingly high, we all must work to support and uplift the LGBTQ+ community – not sow further division and strife.”
The National Park Service said upon removing the flag, “Under government-wide guidance, including General Services Administration policy and Department of the Interior direction, only the U.S. flag and other congressionally or departmentally authorized flags are flown on NPS-managed flagpoles, with limited exceptions. Any changes to flag displays are made to ensure consistency with that guidance. Stonewall National Monument continues to preserve and interpret the site’s historic significance through exhibits and programs.”
