US Diplomats Find Creative Ways To Fly Pride Flags Despite State Dpt’s Rejection

BOSTON - JUNE 6: The Gay Pride Flag swirls in the wind before being hoisted atop the flagpole at Boston City Hall during the 20th annual flag-raising ceremony to open the citys Pride Week gay rights events scheduled ... BOSTON - JUNE 6: The Gay Pride Flag swirls in the wind before being hoisted atop the flagpole at Boston City Hall during the 20th annual flag-raising ceremony to open the citys Pride Week gay rights events scheduled through Sunday, June 15. (Photo by Joanne Rathe/The Boston Globe via Getty Images) MORE LESS
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Though the State Department has rejected some embassy requests to fly rainbow flags in celebration of Pride month, diplomats are finding creative ways to circumvent the decision.

According to the Washington Post, diplomats in Seoul and Chennai, India still flew the flags, while the building in New Delhi is awash with rainbow lights. Santiago and Vienna went digital, promoting the rainbow colors on their embassy websites. Diplomats in Jerusalem hit the streets to march in a Pride parade, while representatives stationed all over the globe posted pictures of themselves in rainbow gear or holding up signs in front of their embassies.

Before this year, flying a Pride flag was a matter of course, ever since the Obama administration encouraged foreign policy agencies to celebrate in 2011. Only within the past year have diplomats been forced to obtain top-level approval to fly the rainbow colors.

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