Do Democrats hate the American flag?
On Thursday, Senate Democrats made a decision to reject a proposal put forth by Republican Senator Roger Marshall from Kansas. The proposal aimed to prohibit government buildings, including federal offices, post offices, and courthouses, from displaying any flag other than the American flag.
According to Fox, despite obtaining a majority of 50-49 votes in favor of the amendment, it fell short of the required 60 votes as per the agreement with Senate leadership. The only Democrat who supported the language was Senator Joe Manchin from West Virginia.
The amendment presented by Senator Marshall was broader in scope compared to a similar one proposed in the House by Representative Ralph Norman from South Carolina. Norman’s version, which was added to the House version of the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), specifically aimed to prevent the Defense Department from displaying the Pride flag or other controversial symbols, as they did during Pride month in June.
In contrast, Senator Marshall’s amendment would have applied to the entire government, stating that no flag other than the flag of the United States could be flown or displayed in any public building. Marshall argued that the American flag represents unity and should be the only one displayed on government-owned grounds.
Marshall did include certain exceptions to allow a limited number of other flags, such as the POW/MIA flag, flags representing foreign diplomats’ nations, U.S. state flags, and a few others.
Despite the exceptions, Senate Democrats rejected the proposal, asserting that it was an attempt by Republicans to exclude LGBTQ+ Americans. Senator Tammy Baldwin from Wisconsin made it clear that the real issue was the prohibition of displaying the Pride flag, emphasizing that LGBTQ+ Americans serve in the armed forces and the federal government, making significant contributions to the country.
This issue of flags gained attention in June when the White House displayed the Pride flag in honor of Pride month. Although the Defense Department did not fly the Pride flag, the Navy briefly changed its Twitter banner to show a Pride rainbow, and the Air Force tweeted a picture that symbolized support for Pride month.
The proposal put forth by Senator Marshall and Representative Norman sought to formalize limits on the types of flags that can be displayed, which were imposed during the Trump administration but overridden by the Biden administration.