Andy Naquin, Louisiana Councilman, Proposes Gay Rainbow Flag Ban

Lawmaker Proposes Gay Rainbow Flag Ban In Louisiana

A Louisiana city councilman has proposed banning the rainbow flag from being flown on government property after receiving complaints from local veterans.

Andy Naquin says he is working with Lafayette City-Parish Attorney Mike Hebert on drafting an ordinance that would "limit the types of flags that could be displayed in such spaces, according to The Daily Advertiser.

The move came after Naquin received complaints from Korean War veteran Ray Green, 79, who called the rainbow flag "a poke in the eye of a way of life" after seeing it hoisted in Lafayette's Girard Park in honor of LGBT Pride Month, according to the Advertiser.

Green told KLFY, "If you allow the gay pride flag to be flown, then you got to by all rights allow the KKK, the Muslims and anybody else."

Meanwhile, Naquin, a Republican, denied implications that he is anti-gay, saying he is against any flag unrelated to government flying in that location. "I never once mentioned any one particular organization," he is quoted as saying. "I addressed as totality that every private organization should be limited from flying their flag."

Nonetheless, the move has angered local lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) rights advocates. Acadiana OUTspoken Alliance President Amanda Kelley called a potential restriction "a violation of free speech," noting that the flag's display "wasn't intended to insult or hurt anyone."

She added, "We fought for this country, too."

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