“This in no way reflects any lack of respect or admiration for people the LGBTQ+ community, the personnel in and out of uniform who serve in this department,” Kirby added. He said that the decision was made because an exception could open the door for other challenges to the rule set in place last July. Joseph Fons, holding a pride flag, stands in front of the US Supreme Court building after the court ruled that a federal law banning workplace discrimination also covers sexual orientation, in Washington, DC, on J “There won’t be an exception made this month for the pride flag,” Pentagon spokesman John Kirby said. In July 2020, Trump’s Pentagon issued a policy authorising only certain flags on military installations and was seen as a way for then-Defense Secretary Mark Esper to issue a de facto ban on displaying the Confederate flag without specifically mentioning it.
The Pentagon said on Friday that it would not make an exception to allow US military installations to fly rainbow pride flags in June, in keeping with a policy set by former President Donald Trump that limited the type of flags that could be flown on bases.Įarlier this week, President Joe Biden said that nearly 1,500 of his federal agency appointees identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer, in a proclamation marking the start of Pride Month celebrating the LGBTQ community.