‘God Hates Flags.’ Calls from Colorado GOP to ‘burn all the pride flags’ draw outrage

The Colorado Republican party marked the beginning of Pride month by condemning LGBTQ people as child groomers and calling to burn Pride flags.

The anti-gay messaging, included in an email and online post, quickly drew criticism.

“The month of June has arrived and, once again, the godless groomers in our society want to attack what is decent, holy, and righteous so they can ultimately harm our children,” the state GOP party wrote in a recent mass email, according to 9News.

The email was titled “God Hates Flags” in an apparent riff on an anti-gay slogan perpetuated by the Westboro Baptist Church. It was signed by state party chairman Dave Williams, according to the outlet.

Williams previously sponsored an unsuccessful bill to ban same-sex marriage in Colorado in 2020, according to Colorado Public Radio. He is currently a candidate for Colorado’s Fifth Congressional District, and has been endorsed by former President Donald Trump.

Following the email, the state party wrote in a post on X, formerly Twitter, “Burn all the #pride flags this June.”

“Really State GOP?!” Valdamar Archuleta, the president of the Colorado Log Cabin Republicans, an organization that advocates for LGBTQ rights, wrote in a reply to the email.

“The morons running our state party make it EXTREMELY hard for some of us to accomplish our goals for Liberty,” Archuleta wrote. “I’m really mad right now…”

In a reply to the party’s post on X, State Rep. David Ortiz wrote, “Y’all, under your current leadership, have more in common with the Taliban than the founding fathers.”

Ortiz, a Democrat and Afghanistan veteran, added, “LGBTQ folks served and serve in the military. We are cops, we are firefighters, we are your family members & neighbors. We will outlast your bigotry and hate.”

In a statement to McClatchy News addressing the criticism, Williams said, “We make no apologies for saying God hates pride or pride flags as it’s an agenda that harms children and undermines parental authority, and the only backlash we see is coming from radical Democrats, the fake news media, and weak Republicans who bow down at the feet of leftist cancel culture.”

The majority of Coloradoans, 72%, support allowing same-sex marriage, according to a Public Religion Research Institute poll from 2023.

This story was originally published June 5, 2024, 3:08 PM.