Rainbow Over Richmond

Some folks in the capital of the Confederacy are not too happy about the flag flying below the Stars-and-Stripes at the Richmond Federal Reserve.  No, it's not the Stars-and-Bars of the old South, but the rainbow flag of gay "rights":

Del. Robert G. Marshall, R-Prince William, is asking the Richmond Federal Reserve Bank to remove the rainbow flag flying below the American flag outside of the building, calling its presence “a serious deficiency of judgment by your organization, one not limited to social issues.”

In a letter to Richmond Fed President Jeffrey M. Lacker, Marshall says the homosexual behavior “celebrated” by the bank “undermines the American economy” and is a class six felony in Virginia.

“The Richmond Fed’s endorsement of costly, anti-social, immoral behavior is rejected by 6,000 years of Western Religious and moral teaching,” writes Marshall, who is among the General Assembly’s most conservative members and has long been outspoken on gay-rights issues. “You want the American people to trust your [judgment] in economic matters when your spokesperson celebrates an attack on public morals?”

Sally Green, the bank’s first vice president and chief operating officer, said earlier this week, “We are flying the pride flag as an example of our commitment to the values of acceptance and inclusion.”

The flag is being flown at the request of PRISM, a Richmond Fed group representing gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender employees and allies.

Federal agencies should not be making political statements with flags or anything else. Given the divisive nature of the gay "rights" argument, this flag is completely inappropriate.