Although Donald Trump pledged during his 2016 presidential campaign that he would advocate for LGBTQ rights, he has rolled back transgender health care protections and rescinded Obama-era anti-discrimination protections. And now, in the middle of Pride Month, the Trump administration is denied requests from U.S. embassies that want to fly the rainbow flag. However, these photos of embassy pride flags show diplomats finding creative ways to show their support for LGBTQ people around the world.
The State Department has been prohibiting U.S. embassies from flying the rainbow pride flag on their flagpoles. The Trump administration has rejected requests to fly the pride flag from least four embassies — those in Israel, Germany, Brazil, and Latvia, per The Guardian. Vice President Mike Pence described this flag ban as "the right decision," arguing that only "one American flag flies" at U.S. embassies. However, embassies are still allowed to display the pride flag elsewhere on their grounds, NBC News reported, and they are definitely doing so.
In an effort to work around the State Department's pride flag ban, multiple American embassies have displayed the rainbow flag on their facades or fences, the BBC reported, and many ambassadors have expressed their support for Pride Month as well. The following photos show how American embassies and ambassadors are showing their solidarity with LGBTQ people around the world.