Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) introduced legislation to make the rainbow Pride flag a congressionally authorized flag. His legislation would stop the president’s attempts to remove the flag from the Stonewall National Monument in New York City and stop future administrations from removing the flag from other federal sites nationwide as well.

“Stonewall has stood as a beacon of hope for the LGBTQ community – a reminder of the resilience and perseverance of those before us who fought for the rights they deserve. Stonewall is sacred ground, and Congress must act now to permanently protect the pride flag and what it stands for,” Schumer said in a February 17 statement.

Related

Trump stole our Pride flag but he cannot steal our Pride!

“[The president’s] hateful crusade must end,” Schumer continued. “The very core of American identity is liberty and justice for all – and that is what this legislation would protect: each national park’s ability to make their own decision about what flag can be flown.”

“Attempts to hurt New York and the LGBTQ community simply won’t fly, but the Stonewall Pride flag always will,” he concluded, later adding that, “Rights that are not secured in law can be threatened.” 

Insights for the LGBTQ+ community

Subscribe to our briefing for insights into how politics impacts the LGBTQ+ community and more.
Subscribe to our Newsletter today

Rep. Dan Goldman (D-NY) introduced a companion bill to Schumer’s in the House.

In adherence with “government-wide guidance” issued by the president, the National Park Service (NPS) removed the rainbow flag from the Stonewall National Monument earlier this month. The NPS confirmed the removal of the flag, explaining to Gay City News that “only the U.S. flag and other congressionally or departmentally authorized flags are flown on NPS-managed flagpoles, with limited exceptions.” The administration had already banned the Trans Pride flag and the Progress Pride flag from flying at the monument. 

The Stonewall monument is significant for the uprising that took place there in 1969, which became a major catalyst for the global LGBTQ+ rights movement. The New York City monument is the first U.S. National Monument dedicated to LGBTQ+ rights, having been designated as such in 2016 by then-President Barack Obama.

The flag’s removal resulted in immediate outrage from New York politicians, with Manhattan Borough President Brad Hoylman-Sigal (D) criticizing it as “mean-spirited,” New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani (DSA) calling it an “act of erasure,” and gay New York State Sen. Erik Bottcher (D) denouncing it as a “cowardly attempt to rewrite history and intimidate our community.”

On February 13, a crowd of over 2,000 people watched as local elected officials re-raised the flag upon the monument’s flagpole in a defiant act of resistance. However, it’s unclear how long the flag will remain flying or whether activists will continue raising new ones after each subsequent removal.

In a letter to NPS, New York City Council Speaker Julie Menin (D) and New York City Councilmembers Chi Ossé (D) and Justin Sanchez (D) — the latter two who both co-chair the council’s LGBTQIA+ Caucus — wrote a letter to the NPS demanding the return of the flag, an explanation of why it was removed, and a notice of what steps NPS “will take to ensure that the Stonewall National Monument continues to reflect the truth of its history and the community it represents.”

One year ago, NPS removed all mentions of transgender people from its webpage on Stonewall to comply with the president’s executive orders prohibiting any federal recognition of trans people in any aspect of civic life. The NPS subsequently removed references to bisexual people, too.

Subscribe to the LGBTQ Nation newsletter and be the first to know about the latest headlines shaping LGBTQ+ communities worldwide.