On June 10 (local time), President Joe Biden hosted the largest Pride celebrations in White House history. He called for new measures to protect the rights and safety of the LGBTQ+ community, claiming the states that are bringing legislation to ban teachers and children from discussing gender or sexuality in school are “terrifying”. However, the event was clouded by controversies, including a group of transgenders shooting videos topless and accusations of violation of the Flag Code during the event.
Violation of Flag Code
Soon after photos and videos of the celebration were shared on social media, netizens suggested that the White House violated US Flag Code Section 7(e), which requires the American Flag to be at the centre of any display featuring multiple flags. It reads, “The flag of the United States of America should be at the centre and at the highest point of the group when a number of flags of States or localities or pennants of societies are grouped and displayed from staffs.”
This is a disgrace.
— Dr. Roger Marshall (@RogerMarshallMD) June 11, 2023
Not only is it in breach of US Flag Code, but it’s a glaring example of this White Houses’ incompetence and insistence on putting their social agenda ahead of patriotism. pic.twitter.com/Hn2jART16m
However, reports claimed the flag code was not violated as an American Flag was hoisted at the top of the building that was not shown in most images and videos. Furthermore, some netizens claimed as per Section 10 of the Flag Code, the Commander in Chief of the Armed Forces of the United States has the right to alter the Flag Code as it is appropriate and desirable. Being Commander in Chief, Biden can display the flags as he sees fit.
The topless transgenders at the White House
A shocking video of three topless trans people at the White House is making the rounds on social media. One of the trans persons, who identifies as Rose Montoya, shared the video on her TikTok account. In the video, Rose was seen covering her nipples while another trans person was “flaunting” surgery scars after breast removal.
This is what happened at the White House pride event. A disgrace to our country. pic.twitter.com/QmXVIdmOPr
— Libs of TikTok (@libsoftiktok) June 13, 2023
Following the controversy, Rose uploaded another video on TikTok claiming to show breasts in Washington is legal. They further claimed to have covered nipples just to be on the safer side.
Biden’s address at the event
During his address at the event, Biden urged Congress to pass the “Equality Act” to amend the 1964 Civil Rights Act. The amendment proposed will include gender identity and sexual orientation for protection alongside religion, national origin, sex and race.
At the invitation of President Biden and First Lady Jill Biden, thousands of guests arrived at the White House and picnicked on the South Lawn. Pete Buttigieg, who is the first openly LGBTQ US Cabinet secretary, and Assistant Secretary of Health and Human Services Admiral Rachel Levine, attended the event alongside President and the First Lady. Survivors of the Club Q (LGBTQ club) nightclub shooting in November 2022 and the Pulse (Gay club) shooting in 2016 were invited to the event.
According to Joe Biden, Republican-led states are targeting transgender youth by banning teachers of younger children from discussing gender or sexuality in the classrooms. These states have either proposed or passed laws banning drag performances at the schools that Biden termed a “threatening environment for LGBTQ people”.
Notably, such events are often highly sexualised, and parents are primarily kept in the dark about the discussions on sexual orientation and gender in the classrooms. In recent years, parents have come out publicly denouncing the actions of the schools and states to create a fissure between children and parents. Several states have pushed legislation banning teachers from informing parents about transitioning their children, leading to protests by the parents.
Biden said, “When families across the country face excruciating decisions to relocate to a different state to protect their child from dangerous ant-LGTBQ laws, we have to act. We must push back against the hundreds of callous and cynical bills introduced in states targeting transgender children, terrifying families, and criminalising doctors and nurses. These bills and laws attack our most basic values and freedoms as Americans.”
Biden has recently announced more measures aimed at providing help to transgenders to access better care and increasing federal coordination to protect Pride celebrations, LGBTQ-owned or linked marches, community centres, healthcare providers and small businesses.
The books that are either banned from school libraries or facing protests by parents contain sexual content that is not fit for young children. These books often depict oral sex, underage sex and gay sex, to which parents have objected profusely.
