In November, Ahmad Zarah — a gay, Muslim, immigrant from Syria — was elected to Fullerton’s city council. In May, Zarah, 50, brought before the council a proposal to fly the rainbow flag, or “pride flag,” a universally recognized symbol of the LGBTQ community.
It passed with a 3-2 vote.
Zarah said he brought this proposal because “the LGBTQ community has been among the most marginalized historically, and has recently been the target of hate crimes.”
“There is a lot of discrimination, antagonism and hate against the LGBTQ community that is often not talked about,” he said. “As cities, we not only have to look at matters of day-to-day life, but also set standards within our communities, promoting inclusiveness and rejecting hate.”
For the first time in state history, the pride flag is flying on the main flagpole of the State Capitol building in Sacramento through July 1, during LGBTQ Pride Month, at the request of Gov. Gavin Newsom.
“By flying the pride flag over the State Capitol, we send a clear message that California is welcoming and inclusive to all, regardless of how you identify or who you love,” Newsom said in a statement.
But, the issue of displaying the pride flag on flagpoles in city halls has been the subject of discussion and debate across Orange County. The outcomes of these dialogues have varied widely.
Along with Fullerton, city councils in Anaheim, Aliso Viejo, Costa Mesa and Laguna Beach voted in favor of displaying the rainbow flags on city hall flagpoles. In 2015, Santa Ana became the first municipality in the county to fly the rainbow flag at city hall.
In Anaheim, council members voted in January to fly the pride flag below the city flag during Pride Month. For the previous two years, the city hung a banner off the building during gay pride month in light of a city law prohibiting the display of anything other than the national, state and city flags, or a Congress-approved flag, on the City Hall flagpoles.
In Garden Grove, council members agreed not to display it on the flag pole, but supported a move to light up the clock tower at Village Green Park in rainbow colors.
On June 11, a pride flag, which was raised for the first time on the OC Fairgrounds in Costa Mesa, was reported stolen. The Fair board voted last month to fly the rainbow flag year-round as a symbol of inclusion. Board Chairman Robert Ruiz said in a statement that the flag has been replaced “with additional security measures.”
Irvine city council members voted down council member Melissa Fox’s proposal to fly the pride flag in city hall. And Fountain Valley council members approved a policy that bans non-governmental flags, which includes the pride flag, from being flown on municipal property.
In Buena Park, newly elected councilman Connor Traut brought forth two proposals — one in April for the city to participate in the OC Pride Parade and another in May asking that the city recognize May 22 annually as Harvey Milk Day in honor of the famed LGBTQ activist and first openly gay elected official in California. Neither of his proposals passed.
But, Traut said he is hopeful for the future.
“I’m encouraged by the response from many city staff who have since begun hanging pride flags in their offices to show support for LGBTQ residents and staff members,” he said. “I have faith in the generational shifts that are trending toward a more accepting society, but we still have work to do to combat systemic bigotry.”
The rainbow flag was designed in 1978 as a symbol of pride for the LGBTQ community by artist Gilbert Baker, an openly gay man and a drag queen, urged by Harvey Milk. Baker said at the time that he chose a flag as a symbol for the community because “flags are the most powerful symbol of pride.”
But it wasn’t until 1994 that the rainbow flag was truly established as the symbol for LGBTQ pride when Baker made a mile-long version for the 25th anniversary of the Stonewall riots, a violent demonstration by members of the gay community against a police raid that began in the early morning hours of June 28, 1969 at the Stonewall Inn in Manhattan.
The rainbow flag has since been adopted as a symbol of pride by the LGBTQ community worldwide.
When cities recognize this symbol of pride, they essentially commemorate the struggles of the LGBTQ community, said Laura Kanter, a community activist who has been going to city council meetings to support this initiative. Kanter said she would like to see pride flags in all Orange County cities.
“As members of the LGBTQ community, we need to know that we are in a place where we can be safe,” she said.
Several city officials who objected to flying the rainbow flag on city property said they didn’t think it was necessary because the American flag is in itself a symbol of unity and inclusiveness.
Fountain Valley city council member Cheryl Brothers said all she voted on was a flag policy. “We decided that only government flags should fly on government property,” she said.
During the June 11 council meeting, Brothers asked a speaker how the city should react to a group that wants to put a swastika flag on the flagpole.
“We’ve been asked before if we’d fly the flag (of the former South Vietnam),” Brothers said. “I would say ‘no’ to that as well because we’re not South Vietnam, we’re the United States. We fly the American flag, which embraces everyone. A lot of groups could argue they are marginalized and we wouldn’t want to be in a position where we have to consider flying everyone’s flag.”
Zahra said the pride flag is the singular symbol of pride and visibility for the gay community, which makes it unique.
“Other communities have been marginalized and have struggled, and they have other forms of expression that have been represented as appropriate by different cities,” he said.
Traut said when a city decides to fly the pride flag, it’s “a way of ratifying their support as allies with the LGBTQ community.”
“Why oppose showing a marginalized group that you have their back?”