Pride flag will be raised outside Los Angeles City Hall for the first time
The pride flag will fly outside Los Angeles City Hall for the first time in the city's history.
On the eve of LA's Pride celebrations, the city council voted Friday to amend an ordinance that bans the raising of almost any flag except the American flag on city property. Now, LA will be able to raise the pride flag outside government buildings for the first time.
The change was made to honor the local LGBTQ community ahead of the annual weekend of celebrations, including the world-famous events of WeHo Pride which draw thousands each year. Saturday marks the first day of Pride Month, June 1.
The council's vote was unanimous: 12-0.
Mayor Karen Bass later signed the motion to give it final approval.
"Our message to the rest of the country and to the world is clear -- now more than ever, we must stand together," Bass said in a statement early Saturday.
Before the motion passed at Friday's meeting, a mariachi band wearing rainbow-colored collars performed just before the council introduced the Community Grand Marshal of the 2024 LA Pride Parade, LA City Fire Chief Kristin Crowley.
Crowley, who will head the parade on June 9, spoke of her appreciation as a member of the LGBTQ community herself.
"My heart is full of joy. That is a spectacular way to start it off," she said following the performance.
The fire chief's command staff attended the meeting, standing and clapping after she spoke.
"That just shows and demonstrates the amount of support that I feel each and every day with an amazing command staff that is here just to demonstrate and show their support for an individual like me," Crowley said.
The council unanimously voted earlier this week to ask the city attorney to draft an ordinance that would allow raising of the "Progress Pride Flag" outside city buildings. A city code — Section 7.66, Article 10.5 — previously barred the flying of any flag except the American flag and the recognized flag of prisoners of war and those missing in action.
The Progress Pride Flag is a variation of the original rainbow-colored flag which integrates other elements as a nod to communities of color and those who died in the HIV/AIDS epidemic, according to the Human Rights Campaign.
"While the black and brown stripes still represented communities of color, the black stripe is also a nod the thousands of individuals that the community lost during the HIV/AIDS crisis in 1980s and 1990s," the advocacy group's website states.
It will be raised in the civic center, where the U.S., state and city flags are up.
