Voters Ban Pride Flag In Huntington Beach

HUNTINGTON BEACH, CA — Voters in Huntington Beach passed a measure this week to ban most non-government flags — including the Pride rainbow — from city property.

The charter amendment stipulates that the only flags to be displayed by Huntington Beach on city property will be the U.S. flag, California flag, Orange County flag, city flag, POW-MIA flag, the flags of the six Armed Forces, and, during the Summer Olympic Games, the Olympic flag.

The measure was approved with 58.17 percent of the vote or 22,337 votes, preliminary results show. The question received majority support from the city council, with four in favor and three against.

“Our whole goal in bringing Measure B forward was to focus on unity,” Mayor Gracey Van Derk Mark told NBC 4. “We want to remove all special interests and just focus on flags that represent all of us regardless of our race, gender, sexual orientation.”

But LGBTQ Center Orange County Executive Director Peg Coley told NBC 4 the move is “taking us backwards.”

“It’s a message of ‘We want LGBTQ+ to be less heard in Huntington Beach,’” she told the outlet.

There is a loophole that could allow the Pride flag to be flown in the future. Under the amendment, any flag can fly if it is unanimously authorized by the council.