Outrage After Pride Flags Lowered for Charlie Kirk: ‘Don’t Make Our Joy Honor Our Oppressor’

This past week, flags were lowered across the U.S. to mark Charlie Kirk’s death, after a proclamation from President Trump on September 10.

All flags on public grounds were ordered to be flown at half-staff until September 14. Compliance was not universal—neither New York nor New Jersey officially changed their flag statuses, and officials in Bergen County, New Jersey, did not lower the flags as ordered, as reported by The New York Post. However, LGBTQ+ Pride and transgender flags in West Hollywood and Fire Island were lowered to half-mast over the weekend, sparking shock and pushback from the community.

In the West Hollywood (WeHo) neighborhood of Los Angeles, the trans and Progressive Pride flags were both lowered in Matthew Shepard Square, according to the WeHo Times. On September 14, an unknown person reportedly posted a sign in the square reading “Shame on West Hollywood for lowering our flags in honor of a racist, transphobic, homophobic, Nazi-loving monster.”

West Hollywood city officials released a statement acknowledging “concern in the community” over the lowered flags on Sunday afternoon, stating that they had acted in compliance with Trump’s order, as per city policy.

“The City’s action should not be interpreted as an expression of alignment with, or endorsement of, Mr. Kirk’s political views or actions,” the statement read. “Rather, the action was undertaken in accordance with the City’s Policy for Recognitions and Memorials, which acknowledges that the City follows the direction of the President in determining when flags in the City are flown at half-staff.” The City Council will “consider updates to the City’s policy regarding the lowering of flags to ensure that it appropriately reflects the values of the West Hollywood community” in the future, officials wrote.

Kirk, who was shot and killed in Utah on September 10, was the founder of the right-wing campus activism group Turning Point USA and an outspoken anti-LGBTQ+ speaker, once calling for doctors who provide gender-affirming medical care to be given a “Nuremberg-style trial.”

Meanwhile, other transgender flags and Pride flags were also lowered to half-mast at Cherry Grove dock on Fire Island. An Instagram post from the Black and Brown Equity Coalition (BaBEC), which has spearheaded organizing efforts on the island for years.

“We cannot stay silent seeing Pride and transgender flags at half-staff on Cherry Grove dock to honor Charlie Kirk; a man who called trans people ‘a middle finger to God,’ cited biblical passages advocating violence against queer people, and suggested LGBTQ+ individuals be handled ‘like in the 1950s,’” BaBEC members write. “If federal protocol requires all flags to fly below the U.S. flag, including when at half-staff, then remove the Pride and trans flags entirely. Don’t make our joy honor our oppressor.”

Several people have already lost their jobs for posting about his death on social media, including trans horror writer Gretchen Felker-Martin and, more recently, late-night talk show host Jimmy Kimmel. Kimmel’s show was suspended indefinitely by ABC following his remarks regarding the Trump administration’s reaction to Kirk’s death.