National Parks Service removes rainbow Pride flag from Stonewall National Monument
WEST VILLAGE, Manhattan (WABC) -- Outrage is growing over the removal of the Pride flag at the Stonewall National Monument at Christopher Park, which is located near the historic Stonewall Inn.
The flag was taken down per orders from the Trump administration.
The flag commemorates the birthplace of the modern LGBTQ+ Rights movement, but under new guidance from the Trump administration, only U.S. flags or ones authorized by Congress can fly at sites run by the National Parks Service.
The flag's removal is sparking anger from local democrats as well as member and allies of the LGBTQ community.
"The fact that the federal government has decided to remove it suggests to me, and I think to other queer New Yorkers, that our human rights are disposable," said Manhattan Borough President Brad Hoylman-Sigal.
Mayor Zohran Mamdani posted on social media that "no act of erasure" will silence history.
"I am outraged by the removal of the Rainbow Pride Flag from Stonewall National Monument. New York is the birthplace of the modern LGBTQ+ rights movement, and no act of erasure will ever change, or silence, that history. Our city has a duty not just to honor this legacy, but to live up to it. I will always fight for a New York City that invests in our LGBTQ+ community, defends their dignity, and protects every one of our neighbors-without exception."
Protesters gathered in Christopher Park Tuesday evening, bringing their own flags. They protested what they believe was an attack on their history, and their rights.
"I would tell my friends: meet me at the park where the rainbow flag was at," said Tabytha Gonzalez of Destination Tomorrow. "That flag was not a decoration. It was a declaration that we are here, we have survived and we will continue to be here."
"You can take down the flag, we're going to put it back up," said Dr. Carla Smith, CEO of the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Community Center. "And if we need to come down here one by one, day by day, and do that, that's what we're going to do."
The National Parks Service told ABC News that, "only the U.S. flag and other congressionally or departmentally authorized flags are flown on NPS-managed flagpoles, with limited exceptions."
But advocates say that exception had been granted under President Joe Biden. The site was designated a national monument by President Obama in 2016 to commemorate the Stonewall Uprising of 1969, which is credited with birthing the Pride movement.
It includes the privately owned Stonewall Inn, a portion of the city street, and the tiny, triangular Christopher Park -- a beacon to LGBTQ+ people since the 1960s.
"The flag is more than just a flag, it represents the rich history of our community; it represents our struggle, it represents the rainbow of people within our community," said State Sen. Erik Bottcher.
Elected leaders have been quick to react and City Council Speaker Julie Menin sent a letter of protest to the National Park Service and posted on social media:
Various elected leaders said they will be back on Thursday to re-raise the Pride flag in defiance on the federal directive.
When asked if they feared retribution, their response was, "this is a movement that was founded on resistance."
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