United States: controversy over the budget and the ban on the LGBT+ flag in embassies

The 1.2 trillion dollar budget adopted

at the last minute

on March 23 made it possible to avoid a “shutdown” in the United States. But that doesn't mean it's unanimous. Certain measures obtained in the project by the Republicans are causing a lot of talk: no military aid planned at the moment for Ukraine or Israel, more funding for UNRWA, but also the ban on LGBT+ flags in American embassies.

The American flag and the rainbow flag hang at the American embassy in Rome, June 14, 2016. AP - Fabio Frustaci

By: RFI Follow

Advertisement

Read more

With our correspondent in New York

,

Loubna Anaki

For Republicans, this is a small victory in a standoff that has lasted since the presidency of

Donald Trump

. At the time, the billionaire's administration imposed a ban on

LGBT+

flags on official buildings. A measure then canceled by Joe Biden.

If the new text adopted this weekend does not explicitly ban rainbow flags, it provides that the budget can only be used for the American flag, as well as a very limited list of other flags to be made float above official buildings.

Saturday March 23,

Joe Biden

criticized this measure. One of the White House spokespersons said it was “ 

inappropriate to take advantage of the need to finance the government to include this ban which targets LGBT+ Americans

”. He affirmed that they had still managed to block many other measures of this kind slipped into the project by the Republican Party, and assured that Joe Biden remains determined to defend LGBT+ equality.

Read alsoUnited States: the budget voted at the last minute in Congress

Newsletter

Receive all the international news directly in your inbox

I subscribe

Follow all the international news by downloading the RFI application

Share :

Continue reading on the same themes:

  • UNITED STATES

  • LGBT+

  • Joe Biden