A motion to limit only flying government flags on county facilities was approved by the Orange County Board of Supervisors on June 6.
The board voted 3–2 to pass the motion—which limits flags allowed on county properties to the United States, state, county, and a newly added POW/MIA flag—with Chairman Donald Wagner, Vice Chairman Andrew Do, and Supervisor Doug Chaffee voting to approve, while Supervisors Katrina Foley and Vicente Sarmiento opposed.
“There are three [flags] ... and only three, [that] should fly on government buildings because they speak for all of us, collectively,” Do, the motion’s initiator, said at the meeting.
Do said that the flags reflect the common values that people adhere to as a nation and prioritizing any others would only invite controversy and division.
He added that maintaining the government’s neutrality is essential to preserving American freedom and free discourse.
“If we choose to fly flags other than those three, we are inserting the County of Orange into those political debates. And that’s not where we belong,” he said.
Some who spoke during public comment against the motion said that the timing of it targets the LGBT community and would bring harm to that group.
“If anyone who says this is not just about Pride, I would like to remind you what month it is,” said Peg Corley, executive director at the LGBTQ Center OC. “By erasing visibility of a marginalized community, you are adding to the problem of increasing rates of self-harm … [and] suicide.”
Do said the proposed item was not targeting any particular flag or group and that he had worked, over the years, with various programs promoting the well-being of the LGBT community.
Chaffee, a Democrat, said he supported not bringing one group or another into the spotlight, saying he believes it is important to respect people from all walks of life.
“I like to try to respect people on every side and I don’t want somebody who’s singling themselves out and inadvertently making themselves a target for violence,” he said. “Personally, I did not see a difference between the [LGBT] community and other people.”
He also commented that the county had previously displayed the POW/MIA flag—which stands for prisoner of war or missing in action—and Do later amended the motion to add it to the list of approved flags.
Additionally, Wagner said flying non-governmental flags could lead to endless future debate about why certain flags can be flown and others not.
He cited the word “indivisible” in the Pledge of Allegiance, saying the utmost goal for a government is to be inclusive.
“The word is not ‘division.’ The word is not ‘pick a favorite group and let a government fly a flag on behalf of that favored group,’” he said.
However, the supervisors who opposed the motion said it would introduce disunion to the community.
“[Big corporations] in our community support pride, not because it’s divisive, but because it’s inclusive,” Foley said. “It is a representation of diversity. It is a representation of an inclusive community, a community that provides a space that is safe for people to be who they are and to love who they want.”
She added that allowing the county to display the pride flag would show support to the LGBT community and the county’s effort in mental health programs targeting such.
“Sometimes suicide prevention is as simple as a rainbow flag flying in the wind on a government building, telling our most vulnerable children that they are welcome here,” she said.
Sarmiento said the motion would neglect the need of certain communities that call for more support.
“Why do we want to show this flag?” said Sarmiento. “It is because we still have some struggles that we have to overcome. … It is essentially flying it for 30 days showing that we are supportive.”
In March, the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors voted to fly a version of the pride flag at county-owned properties for the first time, weeks after the City of Huntington Beach in Orange County voted to overturn the display of any non-governmental flags, including the pride flag, at city facilities.
