Flag was set to fly during Pride month — then California town decried it as ‘divisive’

A California city that first voted in 2021 to celebrate Pride by flying the Pride flag during the month of June reversed course, calling the flag “divisive.”

Huntington Beach City Council voted 4-3 on Tuesday, Feb. 7 to reverse the 2021 decision after hours of “sometimes tense public comment,” the Los Angeles Times reported.

The proposal came from Pat Burns, a newly elected council member. Burns wrote in the proposal that the city had “always” flown between three and five flags: the American flag, flags honoring prisoners of war and military members missing in action, the California state flag and the Huntington Beach city flag.

The city had also occasionally flown the Orange County flag, the proposal states.

“That was it,” Burns wrote in the proposal. He added that the community is a diverse one and “all are equally valued members of our community.”

“As a municipal organization, the City of Huntington Beach should avoid actions that could easily or mistakenly be perceived as divisive,” Burns wrote in the proposal.

While the proposal doesn’t specifically list the LGBTQ+ Pride flag, it was the only flag that was left out of the city’s previously approved flags, the LA Times reported. His proposal stated that the city should go back to flying only the three-to-five flags “in the spirit of true unity.”

The group voted 6-0 in May 2021 to fly the flag on city property during Pride month.

Dozens of people spoke at the council meeting, the majority of them against the Pride flag ban, the Los Angeles Times reported.

One woman wouldn’t give her name but identified herself as a Christian and agreed the flag is divisive, the LA Times reported. “Only if you’re homophobic,” the outlet reported someone in the crowd yelled in response.

More people opted instead to send letters, the Voice of OC reported. Overall, more than 275 people sent letters, and 228 of those supported flying the Pride flag in June. The remaining 46 endorsed Burn’s proposal to stop flying the Pride flag, the outlet reported.

One protester was Braunwyn Windham-Burke, the first openly lesbian cast member on “The Real Housewives of Orange County” reality television show, KCAL News reported.

“Having a supportive community can make a kid feel more at home,” the station reported she said at the council meeting. “A flag can save a child’s life.”

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