Several American Embassies Defy Orders from Trump Administration to Honor ‘Pride Month’

By The Blaze. After the Trump administration formally denied requests from multiple United States embassies to hoist the LGBT flag in honor of “Pride Month,” several U.S. embassies and diplomatic missions are defying their orders. . .

Several embassies — including in Israel, Germany, Brazil, Latvia, among others — requested permission to honor “Pride Month” by flying rainbow flags. The requests, however, were denied.

American embassies have had official guidelines for honoring LGBT “Pride” events since 2011, when the Obama administration directed U.S. agencies involved in foreign policy to begin promoting LGBT rights. But the official State Department policy was changed last year by Mike Pompeo, a practicing Christian who became secretary of state last April. (Read more from “Several American Embassies Defy Orders from Trump Administration to Honor ‘Pride Month'” HERE)

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Trump Admin Tells U.S. Embassies They Can’t Fly Pride Flag on Flagpoles

By NBC News. . .Although the pride flag can and is being flown elsewhere on embassy grounds, including inside embassies and on exterior walls, the decision not to allow it on the official flagpole stands in contrast to President Donald Trump’s claim to be a leader in supporting LGBTQ rights overseas. Trump’s administration has announced a campaign to decriminalize homosexuality overseas and this month issued a tweet and formal statement to “celebrate LGBT Pride Month and recognize the outstanding contributions LGBT people have made.”

The denials to U.S. embassies have come from the office of the State Department’s undersecretary for management, Brian Bulatao, a longtime associate of Secretary of State Mike Pompeo who also worked for him at the CIA. Under State Department policy, embassies that want to fly the flag on their flagpoles are expected to obtain permission from Washington.

During the Obama administration, the government granted blanket permission to embassies overseas to fly the pride flag during June. This year, U.S. diplomats said, embassies were told they can display the pride flag in other places, including inside embassies, but that requests to fly it on the flagpole must be specifically approved. No approvals have been granted. (Read more from “Trump Admin Tells U.S. Embassies They Can’t Fly Pride Flag on Flagpoles” HERE)

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