Roger Marshall seeks to ban Pride flags from federal buildings after White House display

Sen. Roger Marshall of Kansas has filed legislation that would prohibit the LGBTQ Pride flag from federal buildings after Republicans condemned President Joe Biden for displaying the flag at the White House.

The GOP senator’s measure comes amid a larger movement among conservatives attacking transgender identity and seeking to regulate the lives of trans individuals. It has virtually no chance of passage in a Democratic-controlled Senate.

The White House draped a rainbow-colored Pride flag over the center of the building’s south portico during an event over the weekend celebrating Pride Month, which is marked in June and commemorates the struggle for LGBTQ rights. Two U.S. flags flanked the Pride flag.

Marshall and other Republicans alleged the Pride flag’s placement violated the U.S. flag code, which says no other flag should be placed above the U.S. flag, or if displayed on the same level, to the right of the U.S. flag, with the exception of church services conducted by naval chaplains at sea. During the event, a U.S. flag still flew above the White House.

“It’s a sad state of affairs when the White House prioritizes their radical social agenda over patriotism,” Marshall said in a statement, adding that “Old Glory must reign supreme as a symbol of our nation’s freedom that thousands of our servicemembers, and veterans have fought and died to protect.”

Debi Jackson, a Kansas City resident who sits on the Human Rights Campaign’s Parents for Transgender Equality National Council, was at the White House Pride event with her trans teen Avery. Jackson said she hadn’t before seen Avery feel as proud to be part of the LGBTQ community.

Jackson said the past few years have been hard on the LGBTQ community, which has endured legislative attacks. “It means everything” to see the Pride flag flying on federal buildings, she said. Jackson has said her family is looking to leave Missouri after Republican Gov. Mike Parson signed into law restrictions on gender-affirming care.

“If Senator Marshall and others continue to push this bill or any others like it, I hope they also focus on the many violations of the Flag Code that occur regularly such as when it is flown next to a Trump or MAGA flag or used as apparel at conservative rallies, because I do agree with the Senator when he says it should never be used for culture wars,” Jackson said in an email.

The original rainbow-striped Pride flag was designed by Gilbert Baker, who was born in Chanute, Kansas. The flag that was on display at the White House is called the Progress Pride flag, which also includes white, pink and light blue stripes representing trans individuals. Additionally, the flag has brown and black stripes representing individuals of color. The black stripe also refers to those who died during the HIV/AIDS crisis of the 1980s and 90s.

Marshall’s bill would prohibit flags other than the U.S. flag from display at federal buildings, with several exceptions. The exceptions include POW/MIA flags, national flag of visiting diplomats, state flags inside and outside the offices of members of Congress, flags of the state or local jurisdiction where a building is located, among others.

The White House didn’t immediately comment.

“We need to push back against the hundreds of callous and cynical bills and laws introduced in states targeting transgender children, terrifying families, and criminalizing doctors and nurses,” Biden, a Democrat, said at the White House Pride event.

The Republican-controlled Kansas Legislature this spring passed a bill banning trans athletes from girls and women’s sports. It also passed a measure that requires trans individuals to use the restrooms and other public accommodations of their gender at birth, but includes no enforcement mechanism. Both bills passed over the veto of Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly.

The Star’s Daniel Desrochers contributed reporting