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Gay Pride Flag Must Be Flown From Foreign Office, Tory MP Tells Philip Hammond

Tory MP Tells Foreign Secretary To Reverse Gay Pride Flag Ban
Ned Simons
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Participants march as they walk under a rainbow flag, a symbol of the gay rights movement, during a gay rally in Hong Kong Saturday, Nov. 9, 2013. Organizers say thousands of people are taking part in the annual Gay Pride Parade including representatives from more than 50 organizations as well as participants from the mainland and Taiwan, according to government radio. (AP Photo/Vincent Yu)
Vincent Yu/AP

Chris Grayling has agreed to speak to Philip Hammond after the foreign secretary refused to fly the LGBT rainbow flag from the Foreign Office and British embassies.

This week London has celebrated gay pride, with the main parade taking place in the capital on Saturday. Traditionally several government buildings have replaced the Union flag with a rainbow flag to celebrate the event.

This year the Foreign Office has not done so and insisted the Union flag is "never substituted for another flag". However last year, when William Hague was foreign secretary, he exchanged the Union flag for the rainbow flag. Last July, numerous British embassies, including in Paris, Oslo, Tel Aviv and Santiago, also flew the LGBT flag.

Tory MP Nigel Evans, a former deputy speaker of the Commons, today asked Grayling, the leader of the House, to "have a word" with the foreign secretary and encourage him to reverse his ban. "It will send such an important signal that will stand by the side of those opposed and indeed in some cases those who fear death for the crime of being born gay," he said.

Grayling said he was "very happy" to communicate the concern to his cabinet colleague. "I am very sympathetic to the work that has been done to address this issue around the world, it is shocking that many countries still regard homosexuality as illegal."

It remains illegal to be gay in around 80 countries, In five countries and in parts of two others, homosexuality is still punishable with the death penalty.

21 Facts About LGBT Pride You Probably Didn't Know
Stonewall Inn: Ground Zero(01 of21)
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On the early morning hours of June 28, 1969, police raided the Stonewall Inn, a gay bar in New York's Greenwich Village. Although police raids on gays bars were common, the bar's patronage, as well as more than a hundred spectators who gathered outside the bar, decided enough was enough -- they fought back. It was the first time that queer people stood up to police on such a large scale, and is often cited as the beginning of the modern Gay Rights Movement. For more information on Stonewall, check out the PBS documentary, Stonewall Uprising.Photo via yosoynuts at Flickr.com (credit:Flickr: yosoynuts)
Corrupt Cops, Feeds Mafia(02 of21)
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In 1969, Stonewall Inn, as well as the majority of the city's gay bars, was owned and operated by the New York Mafia. Establishments that sold alcohol to gay customers could have their liquor licenses revoked, so mobsters paid-off police to turn a blind-eye, thereby gaining a lucrative niche market. For more information about the Mafia's ties to Stonewall, see this PBS report . Photo adapted via Dr. Who at Flickr.com (credit:Flickr: DoctorWho)
Stonewall Extortion(03 of21)
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Stonewall's mafioso owners reportedly engaged in extortion. Employees singled out wealthy patrons who were not public about their sexuality, and blackmailed them for large sums of money with the threat of being 'outed.' For more information about the Mafia's ties to Stonewall, see this PBS report .Photo via Images_of_Money at Flickr.com and TaxBrackets.org (credit:Flickr: Images_of_Money)
Black Cat Tavern Riots(04 of21)
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Two years before to the Stonewall riots, The Black Cat Tavern, a gay bar in LA, was raided by police, and much like what occurred at Stonewall, the patrons fought back and eventually began a protest against the police. Two of the patrons were so enraged, they began a publication for the gay population of Los Angeles, which eventually became one of the largest LGBT magazines, The Advocate. (credit:Getty Images)
Annual Reminders(05 of21)
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Although the Pride Movement did not galvanize until after the Stonewall Riots, there were a handful of gay rights demonstrations prior to 1969. The most direct link to the early parades were Annual Reminders. Every fourth of July, beginning in 1965, homophilic groups would picket Independence Hall in Philadelphia to inform and remind the American people that LGBT people did not enjoy basic civil rights protections. After Stonewall, picketing seemed too pacifistic, and Reminder organizers instead helped plan the first Gay Liberation parades. Photo via ericbeato at Flickr.com (credit:Flickr: Eric Beato)
Lambda(06 of21)
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The Greek Lambda symbol was another commonly used Gay Rights symbol prior to the Rainbow Flag, and was the sign of the Gay Activist Aliance. Photo via Wikimedia Commons
The First Flag(07 of21)
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The first rainbow flag made its debut at the San Francisco Pride Parade in 1978. Designed by San Francisco artist Gilbert Baker, the original flag was hand-dyed and consisted of eight symbolic colors: Hot Pink (sexuality), Red (life), Orange (healing), Yellow (sunlight), Green (nature), Turqoise (magic/art), Blue (serenity/harmony) and violet (spirit). Photo via Wikimedia Commons (credit:Flickr: illuminator999)
Dropping Stripes(08 of21)
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To meet increasing demand for the flag, Baker approached Paramount Flag Company for mass production. There was an unavailability of hot pink baric, so Baker dropped the hot pink stripe from the design. To keep an even number of stripes, turquoise was also dropped, resulting in the six-stripe flag that is widely used today.Photo via torbakhopper at Flickr.com (credit:Flickr: torbakhopper)
The First New York Dyke March(09 of21)
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New York's first Dyke March was held in June of 1993 and is still held every year on the eve of the annual Pride March. (credit:Getty Images)
'Gay' Becomes Okay(10 of21)
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The first gay rights group to use the word 'gay' in their name was the Gay Liberation Front, which was formed In the immediate wake of the Stonewall Riots. Whereas previous organizations, such as the Mattachine Society and the Daughters of Bilitis, had deliberately chosen obscure names, the GLF believed directedness was necessary, as exemplified by a slogan on one of their fliers: "Do You Think Homosexuals Are Revolting? You Bet Your Sweet Ass We Are!" For more information on the GLF, check out this site. Photo via Elvert Barnes at Flickr.com (credit:Flickr: Elvert Barnes)
The Pentagon's First Gay Pride(11 of21)
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In June 2012 the Pentagon held their first Gay Pride event since "Don't Ask Don't Tell" was repealed in 2010. While the event lacked wigs and floats, and instead included a panel discussion entitled "The Value of Open Service and Diversity," it still went down in history as the first gay pride event held at the Pentagon! (credit:Getty images)
Oldest LGBT Organization(12 of21)
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The oldest surviving LGBT organization in the world is Netherland's Center for Culture and Leisure (COC), which was founded in 1946, and used a 'cover name' to mask its taboo purpose. For more information on the COC, check out their site.Photo via Tambako the Jaguar at Flickr.com. (credit:Flickr: Tambako the Jaguar)
Wild in the San Francisco Woods(13 of21)
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In 1976, San Francisco's Civic Center was undergoing renovation, and couldn't host the post-Pride parade celebrations. Instead, the festival site was moved to the Golden Gate Park. Confronted with uncharacteristically intense heat, many attendees shed most, or all, of their clothing. When the sound system failed, scantily-clad celebrators took to the woods for shade and entertainment, and the festival became one of the craziest San Francisco has ever seen. A year later, the 'Save Our Children' campaign cited the wild wood celebrations as evidence of homosexual godlessness and immorality. For a firsthand account of this, and other, Pride festivals in San Francisco, click here.Photo via jdnx at Flickr.comCORRECTION: A previous version of this slide misidentified the "San Francisco's Civic Center" as the "San Francisco's Getty Center." (credit:Flickr: jdnx)
The Rise of 'Pride'(14 of21)
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Early marches commonly used 'Gay Liberation,' and 'Freedom,' in their names. Then, with cultural changes and decreased militancy in the 1980s and 1990s, these words became less frequent, and the term 'Gay Pride,' became commonly used.Photo via illuminator999 at Flickr.com (credit:Flickr: illuminator999)
Giant Flag(15 of21)
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In 1994, Baker led the creation of a mile-long Rainbow Flag, to honor the 25th anniversary of the Stonewall Riots. The Guinness Book of World Records recognized it as the world's largest flag. Photo via Thelmadatter at Wikimedia Commons (credit:Photo via Thelmadatter at Wikimedia Commons)
Island-Long Pride Flag(16 of21)
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The longest Rainbow Flag used in a Pride celebration was unfurled in Key West, Florida, for the flag's 25th anniversary in 2003. Dubbed "25 Rainbow Sea to Sea," the 1.25 mile long flag stretched across the entire island, traveling from the Atlantic Ocean to the Gulf of Mexico. Following the celebration, the flag was cut-up and sent to Pride celebrations around the world.Photo via torbakhopper at Flickr.com CLARIFICATION: A previous version of this slide misidentified the "Gulf of Mexico" as the "Gulf Coast Sea." (credit:Flickr: torbakhopper)
Pride in Sao Paulo(17 of21)
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With an estimated 3.5 million attendees in 2011, Sao Paulo, Brazil, hosts the world's largest Pride parade. For more information about Sao Paulo Pride, check out their site. (credit:NELSON ALMEIDA/AFP/Getty Images)
Europride(18 of21)
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Europe has a pan-European international Pride event, called, appropriately, Europride. The event is hosted by a different European city each year. For information on upcoming events, check out Europride's site.Photo via Daquellamanera at Flickr.com (credit:Flickr: Daquella manera)
Floating Floats(19 of21)
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Amsterdam hosts the only Pride parade whose floats literally float on water, as 100 decorated boats travel through the city's famed canals. For information on Amsterdam Pride, check out their site.Photo via cgeorgatou at Flickr.com (credit:Flickr: Carolina Georgatou)
Loner South Africa(20 of21)
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South Africa is home to the only Pride celebrations on the African continent. Two of the most notable are in Johannesburg and Cape Town. The inaugural Joburg Pride parade was held in 1990 with fewer than one thousand participants but has grown considerably throughout the years, with over 20,000 participants in 2009. Photo via Wikimedia Commons (credit:Wikimedia Commons)
Raining on Australia's Parade(21 of21)
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Each year before the Sydney LGBT Mardis Gras is held, Fred Nile, a member of the New South Wales Legislative Council and a former minister of the Uniting Church in Australia, leads a prayer for rain on the event. Although it has rained some years, the Australian event has sustained as one of best LGBT festivals in the world.Photo via Jon Shave at Flickr.com (credit:Flickr: Jon Shave)

Labour shadow cabinet minister Angela Eagle, who is running for the deputy leadership of her party, said Hammond's decision "sends exactly the wrong signal" to countries where gay people suffer oppression.

"On Tuesday the equality and human rights commission a staggering 88% of LGBT people had experienced some form of hate crime and 35,000 of these cases go unreported every year," she said.

"As I dust of my pink stetson ready to join the LGBT community pride, does the leader of the House agree we need to redouble our efforts to root out prejudice and discrimination at home and abroad?"

Grayling said hate crime was "wholly unacceptable" and told Eagle: "I hear her comments about flags." He added: "I think there are many countries around the world which need to change their approach to gay rights and I very much hope that they will do so."

In what was interpreted as a pointed rebuke of Hammond, Cabinet Office minister Matthew Hancock proudly tweeted a photograph of the rainbow flag flying over his Whitehall department.

On Wednesday the United States ambassador to the United Kingdom, Matthew Barzun, tweeted a short video clip of him raising the rainbow flag over his official residence in London. The Embassy's Twitter account has also changed its logo to rainbow colours.

Critics of Hammond's decision to not fly the rainbow flag point to his voting record and rhetoric on gay rights. He has described David Cameron's decision to legalise same-sex marriage as "shocking".

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