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A city near Detroit, Michigan decides not to allow Pride flags on public land after a bizarre and controversial city meeting.
Hamtramck’s city council voted Tuesday to ban Pride flags from public flagpoles over opposition from religious groups that disagree with the ideology represented by the symbol.
“We want to respect the religious rights of our citizens,” said Council Member Nayeem Choudhury, Fox 2 Detroit reports.
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The Hamtramck, Michigan City Council agreed not to allow Pride flags on public land Tuesday, June 13, 2023. (Fox 2 Detroit)
The entire municipal council of Hamtramck is Muslim and about 40% of the inhabitants are foreign born.
The meeting took a strange turn when a clown-nosed woman took the stage to mock the Pride flag debate.
“Certainly, many residents of Hamtramck have fled countries where being gay is a death sentence, but nothing says we should make it ‘comforting’ and ‘welcoming’ here,” the woman said in a sarcastic speech.
A woman addressing the Hamtramck City Council wears a clown nose during a sarcastic speech mocking the ban of the Pride flag on public property. (municipality of Hamtramck)
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She continued, “While we can no longer legally discriminate against LGBTQ people in the United States, the City of Hamtramck can say, ‘Um, no, be proud of something else.'”
The tongue-in-cheek testimony before the city council included visual gags from another woman assisting her. At the end of their presentation, the pair kissed in protest.
“You are welcome,” said Choudhury. “Why do you have to show the flag on government property to be represented?”
“You are already represented. We already know who you are,” he added.
The city council’s decision not to allow the Pride flag on public land has no impact on private businesses or residences.
Two women kiss in protest against the ban on the Pride flag during the Hamtramck city council meeting. (municipality of Hamtramck)
The motion allows five different flags to be flown on public land: the United States flag, the Michigan flag, the Hamtramck flag, the Prisoner of War flag, and a unique flag representing the countries where many Hamtramck citizens come from .
Timothy Nerozzi is a writer for Fox News Digital. You can follow him on Twitter @timothynerozzi and email him at timothy.nerozzi@fox.com
