Pride flag will no longer fly over California city after officials reverse policy

The LGBTQ+ Pride flag will no longer fly over a Southern California city during Pride Month in June after city leaders adopted a “neutral flag policy,” reports say.

The new policy reversed the previous one that allowed the LGBTQ+ Pride flag to fly at Downey city buildings during “specific historic events or causes,” KTLA reported.

The Downey City Council voted 3-2 to adopt the “neutral flag policy” during the Tuesday, May 14, council meeting, the station reported. The city started flying the Pride flag during Pride Month three years ago.

Councilmembers Claudia Frometa, Dorothy Pemberton and Hector Sosa voted in favor of adopting the new policy, KTLA reported.

“I don’t think it’s our role as elected officials to pick and choose which groups get to fly their flags,” said Sosa, who is concerned about the requests the council receives to fly flags in support of a variety of causes.

Two council members voted against the policy: the city’s first openly gay Mayor Mario Trujillo and Councilmember Horacio Ortiz, ABC7 reported.

“This is not progress. This is a step backwards for my city,” Trujillo said. “And that’s very unfortunate.”

He said the issue was put to a vote after the Downey chapter of Mass Resistance launched a campaign against it three years ago, the Los Angeles Times reported. Mass Resistance describes itself as a “pro-family activist organization.” It has been labeled as an anti-LGBTQ+ hate group by the Southern Poverty Law Center.

Voters in nearby Huntington Beach banned Pride flags from flying on city property in March, McClatchy News previously reported.

Los Angeles County Supervisor Janice Hahn weighed in on the decision on X, formerly known as Twitter.

She said that although she was disappointed in the decision, the Pride flag would still fly at county-owned facilities, including eight in Downey, one of the cities in her district.

“I worry about the message it sends to LGBTQ+ residents,” she said. “We raise the Pride Flag as a reminder of where we stand: no matter where in LA County they may live, LGBTQ+ residents have the unwavering support of their county government.”