LA County Office of Education says it WILL fly the LGBT Pride flag despite the council slapping it down due to strict rules on which ones can be flown

A Pride flag is currently flying on public property in California despite a vote by the city council limiting which flags can be displayed.

The only ones allowed on city flagpoles in Downey are the American, Californian, and prisoners-of-war flags.

But a ceremony on Monday saw one raised in front of the LA County Office of Education.

The city's gay mayor Mario Trujillo voted against the policy, calling it a 'step backward for my city.' 'This is not progress,' he added.

A Pride flag raising ceremony occurred outside the LA County Office of Education on Monday, in Downey, California, after the city council voted on a policy that prevents the flag from being flown this month

County Supervisor Janice Hahn also expressed her displeasure with the new policy, writing on X that the decision 'not to fly the Pride Flag' on city property 'will not stop us from flying it at all eight of our LA County facilities.'

Hahn, who led the Board of Supervisors' effort last year to raise the Pride Flag at all LA County facilities during June, subsequently organized the Monday morning resistance flag raiding at the county's office of education building.

In a press release ahead of the event, Hahn declared: 'There will be pride in Downey this June.

'Despite the recent vote by the Downey City Council, I want our LGBTQ+ Downey residents to know they belong and that they are not only accepted, but celebrated.'

The Pride flag is allowed to fly in front of the office of education because the ceremony was sponsored by LA County, and therefore, 'does not fall under the jurisdiction of the City of Downey,' according to the LA Daily News.

The city's newly adopted neutral flag policy was first requested by Mayor Pro Tempore Hector Sosa at a city council meeting back in April.

Back in 2021, the council voted to display the Pride progress flag during June 'going forward as a commemorative flag.'

The new policy reverses that position by scrapping the section of the policy that allowed for 'commemorative flags' to be flown.

At a May council meeting, Sosa said the neutral flag policy is 'by no means an attempt to silence or spite anyone.' It applies equally to those hoping to fly Christian flags, Blue Lives Matter flags, and Israeli flags.

'I don't think it's our role as elected officials to pick and choose which groups get to fly their flags. Our role is to simply govern, and govern for the residents of the county. It's my opinion that the only flags should be displayed on the American flag, city flag and POW flag,' he said.

Openly gay Downey Mayor, Mario Trujillo was pleasantly surprised by the large crowd and outpouring of support as Los Angeles County Supervisor Janice Hahn held a Pride Flag Raising Ceremony at the LA County Office of Education in Downey, on Monday, June 3, 2024

Drag personality Jewels performed the mistress of ceremonies duties at the Monday morning event

The Downey City Hall will not fly a Pride flag this June due to a recent;y passed neutral flag policy that prevents most kinds of flags from being flown

Board of Supervisors member Janice Hahn speaks at the Pride flag raising ceremony in Downey on Monday, June 3

In a statement about the LA County-sponsored event on Monday, Mayor Trujillo said that the city 'may have lost this battle, but we will win the war for fairness, equality and acceptance for ALL.'

Speakers at Monday's ceremonial flag-raising included Supervisor Hahn, Mayor Trujillo, and President Juan Camacho of Equality California.

Jewels, a Long Beach drag entertainer was tapped to serve as the Mistress of Ceremonies.

Increasingly, the flying of the Pride flag, which has changed in recent years to represent a wider swath of the LGBTQ+ community, has been subject to some pushback in some parts of Southern California.

As is the case in Downey, cities like Huntington Beach, Temecula, and Redlands have imposed restrictions on flag flying that impact the display of the Pride flag by government offices.