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Christian man sues employer for forcing him to see a Pride flag on his way into work (www.lgbtqnation.com)
submitted 4 months ago by to c/nottheonion@lemmy.world
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Department of Public Works employee Eric Batman claims that having to see a Progress Pride flag flying outside the department’s Alhambra, California, headquarters during the month of June effectively forces him to “celebrate, recognize, and solemnize conduct and actions that he views as sin” in conflict with his sincerely held Christian religious beliefs, according to a lawsuit filed in March by anti-LGBTQ+ evangelical nonprofit the Liberty Counsel.

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[–] 22 points 4 months ago (10 children)

I know I'm probably bucking the hive mind here, but I would actually support legislation that government owned building can fly only city, state, and country flags. I'm completely in on making sure that government policies are inclusive and protective of those needing them, but flags just seem performative. In fact, they could be counter productive; flying them "in support" while policies do not.

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  • [–] 12 points 4 months ago (6 children)

    Agreed. Plus a legal precedent in favor of pride flags, could cut the other way. On principle, I don't want to see hateful sentiment yield a legal victory. In practice, disallowing this kind of expression in government facilities would/should keep MAGA flags and other nonsense far from the same flagpoles. Or at the very least, it could be argued so in a second court case.

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  • [–] 5 points 4 months ago (1 child)

    Yeah. I generally don't have an objection to pride flags but I could definitely see somebody stretching the same arguments to have a Confederate or MAGA flag (or just Trump's face as he's so fond of putting it on fucking everything)

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  • [–] 1 point 4 months ago (1 child)

    Why should the law treat these things as the same though? If the law is blind to bigotry then that's a larger problem.

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  • [–] 1 point 4 months ago

    Why should the law treat these things as the same though?

    Good question. I think that the law is going to see a flag on a government flagpole from a "does this represent part of the government or not?" standpoint. In that context, the message the flag sends is irrelevant. In this, and possibly many other cases, it represents a third party that is getting notoriety and support from a government facility. Maybe it's okay if its declared as an official act by someone that has the power to do so, but then it probably won't be a one-off like the flag in the article.

    In truth I freaking love that people put a pride flag in such a prominent place. It represents values that align with basic human dignity and are harmless to everyone. I'm just concerned that it's going to open up a whole can of worms that might make things worse. Then again, things are already pretty bad so clever tactics that exploit loopholes are warranted.

    If the law is blind to bigotry then that’s a larger problem.

    The de-facto environment out there is increasingly so. It is indeed a massive fucking problem.

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  • [–] 11 points 4 months ago (2 children)

    Which cities, states and countries can a building fly? Only their own? Could a federal building raise a flag for another nation in solidarity, even if support for said nation is polarizing? Flags are performative, but knowing what is allowed to be performed can be a good indicator for marginalized groups to know where they might be okay living, even if policies are quite there yet.

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  • [–] 4 points 4 months ago* (1 child)

    In my world, no. A government building flys the flags associated with it. While it's easy to be on the side of a federal building flying the flag of Ukraine, or one state flying the flag of another going through a tragic event, supporting that would also allow government buildings to fly the Israeli flag, or the confederate flag or a MAGA flag. You don't think that confederate sympathizers in the south would claim to be marginalized and the confederate flag flying at the Mississippi statehouse would make them feel welcome? It's a knife that cuts both ways.

    I want marginalized people to feel welcome in their communities, but I don't believe the flagpole of a government building is where to do it. The floor of the government building is.

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