The Huntington Beach City Council voted 4–3 Feb. 21 to give final approval to an ordinance that only allows city facilities to display government flags—those representing the city, county, state, nation, the six branches of the military, and prisoners of war or those missing in military action.
Councilmembers who voted against the policy said they were against banning the LGBT flag—which has been flown on occasion at city hall the last couple of years—while the majority said they did so in the spirit of equal representation.
“By definition, inclusion represents everyone equally, as an American, a resident of California, a resident of Orange County, a resident of Huntington Beach, and of course pays homage to the veterans who have made the ultimate sacrifice to allow us to enjoy the freedoms the United States provides,” Councilman Casey McKeon said during the meeting.
The ordinance does not prevent individuals or businesses from displaying any flag they choose on private or on public property.
McKeon, along with Mayor Tony Strickland, Mayor Pro Tem Gracey Van Der Mark, and Councilman Pat Burns voted in favor while councilors Natalie Moser, Rhonda Bolton, and Dan Kalmick dissented.
Blue Shield of California’s president sent a letter to city officials Feb. 17 opposing the ordinance, and said because of the council’s consideration of such, it has canceled a June two-day retreat for its senior management that was scheduled at the city’s Waterfront Beach Resort Hilton Hotel.
“When we learned of the City Council’s [initial] vote on February 7th to change city policy specifically to ban flying the Pride Flag, we decided that we could no longer in good conscience meet in your city until the uncertainty of this situation is resolved. It is antithetical to our mission and values as an organization and a funder,” wrote Debbie Chang, CEO and president of the Blue Shield of California Foundation.
During the meeting, McKeon said the healthcare executive “misstated that we were banning a certain flag,” and “I don’t know why they’re trying to blackmail us economically.”
He said the newly adopted flag policy to “represent everyone equally” is similar to those in over three-quarters of Orange County cities.
“Is Blue Shield going after the other 77 percent of Orange County cities for their flag policy?” he said. “It’s time to do a refresh to see what other healthcare providers would be interested in our business, which our taxpayers, who are footing the bill, deserve.”
