The Washington Blade has obtained a copy of a new State Department policy that bans embassies and other U.S. diplomatic institutions from flying the Pride flag.

“Per the Further Consolidated Appropriations Act 2024, only the United States of America flag is authorized to be flown or otherwise publicly displayed at U.S. facilities, both domestic and abroad, and featured in U.S. government content,” reads directive that Secretary of State Marco Rubio signed. “No symbol or affiliation marking other than those authorized by U.S. statute, the president, or the secretary may be displayed, projected, or exhibited at any U.S. facility, both domestic and abroad.”

The policy states the U.S. flag “unites all Americans under the universal principles of justice, liberty, and democracy.”

“These values, which are the bedrock of our great country, are shared by all American citizens, past and present,” it reads. “The U.S. flag is a powerful symbol of pride and it is fitting and respectful that only the U.S. flag be flown or displayed at U.S. facilities, both domestically and abroad and in accordance with Chapter 1 of 4 U.S. C. ‘The Flag.”

The policy’s only exception is the POW/MIA flag.

The previous administration banned Pride flags from flying at U.S. embassies. (The Blade in 2018 saw the Pride flag attached to the fence that surrounds the U.S. Embassy in Havana.)

The State Department in 2021 for the first time flew the Progress Pride flag. Then-Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman and then-Chief Diversity and Inclusion Officer Gina Abercrombie-Winstanley are among those who helped raise it. Then-Secretary of State Antony Blinken in 2021 said American diplomatic installations could once again fly the Pride flag.

Former President Joe Biden last March signed a government spending bill with a provision that banned Pride flags from flying over U.S. embassies.

A law that extends marriage rights to same-sex couples in Thailand took effect on Thursday.

Media reports indicate hundreds of same-sex couples tied the knot across the country once the law took effect. The Bangkok Post reported Bangkok Pride and authorities in the Thai capital organized a mass wedding that took place at a shopping mall.

“Today, the rainbow flag is proudly flying over Thailand,” said Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra on X.

Thai lawmakers last year approved the marriage equality bill. King Maha Vajiralongkorn signed it last September.

Thailand is the first country in Southeast Asia to extend marriage rights to same-sex couples.

Same-sex couples can legally marry in Taiwan and Nepal.

The first three Salisbury University students charged in an attack on a man they allegedly lured to an off-campus apartment using a dating app are set to stand trial this week.

Dylan Pietuszka, 20, Logan Clark, 20, and Sean Antone, 19, are among the 15 Salisbury students who in early November were taken into custody in connection with the attack and charged with hate crimes.

All three men standing trial this week are only facing two charges: Second degree assault and false imprisonment, which are both misdemeanors.

The rest of this article can be read on the Baltimore Banner’s website.