LGBTQ+ pride flags at VA facilities in Mississippi draw GOP criticism, protests

By EMILY WAGSTER PETTUS
Associated Press

JACKSON, Miss. (AP) — All the Republicans in Mississippi’s congressional delegation are demanding that the Veterans Administration remove an LGBTQ+ pride flag from the Biloxi National Cemetery. Some Mississippi Gulf Coast residents are also protesting a pride flag that’s flying at a VA hospital. The state’s two senators and three Republican representatives said in a letter Monday to the VA secretary that replacing a U.S. flag with one promoting a particular sexual or gender identity goes against the mission of national cemeteries. The VA said in response that Secretary Denis McDonough has authorized flying the pride flag at all VA facilities as a symbol of inclusion and tribute to the service of LGBTQ+ veterans.